Ryan Polk

I am a Director of Internet Policy at the Internet Society where I primarily work to improve Internet routing security and promote and defend the use of strong encryption worldwide. 

I've co-lead the Internet Society's work on encryption since 2020. Alongside coordinating encryption advocacy efforts worldwide, I am closely involved in our work to support the Global Encryption Coalition and organize the annual Global Encryption Day. 

Prior to joining the Internet Society full-time in 2016, I was a Research Project Assistant at the Internet Society while completing my Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

I am based in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, United States where I spend too much of my time paranoid about cybersecurity threats and not enough of my time hiking.

Image credit: © Jordi Ruiz Cirera/Panos