Education

B.A. Boston College
J.D. Quinnipiac University School of Law

Biography

Ryan Poe-Gavlinski (she/her) is a 2004 graduate of Quinnipiac University School of Law.  Ryan is the Deputy Director of the Economic Justice Institute (EJI), Director of the Restraining Order and Survivor Advocacy Clinic (ROSA) and the Director of the Lawyering Skills program at UW Law School.  Ryan is originally from Southern California and has been licensed to practice in Connecticut, California, West Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin.  Prior to working at UW Law School, she worked for the Department of Child Services for the State of Indiana, a staff attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia, and an Assistant Public Defender at the Law Offices of the Public Defender for Riverside County, California.  Ryan has worked in areas of law including poverty law, criminal defense for both minors and adults, family law and other civil legal matters in assisting victims of intimate partner violence and child welfare law.  

The Restraining Order and Survivor Advocacy Clinic, formally known as the VOCA Restraining Order Clinic received the Innovator of the Year Award in 2019 from the Wisconsin State Bar.  In addition, Ryan received a 2020 Crime Victim Service Award Honorable Mention for Outstanding Victim Advocacy from the Wisconsin Victim/Witness Professional Association and in 2023, the Restraining Order Clinic was awarded Outstanding Victim Advocacy by a Business Organization.

Along with her work with EJI, the ROSA Clinic and Lawyering Skills, Ryan also serves as a Guardian ad Litem in Dane County and is a member of the Leadership Development Committee of the Wisconsin State Bar.  She is a graduate of the Wisconsin State Bar's G. Lane Ware Leadership Program. Ryan currently serves as Chair of the J.D. Grants Committee and is a member of the Inns of Court - James E. Doyle Chapter, serving on the program planning committee. Ryan was  appointed as a Special Investigator for the Office of Lawyer Regulation in 2022 by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and still serves in that capacity.  She also serves on the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors for District 9 (Dane County).

In her free time, Ryan enjoys spending time with family and friends and training in Songham Taekwondo at LVLUP Martial Arts. She is currently a 1st Degree Black Belt, a 2022 District Champion and a 2024 State Champion.