Ryan Uyehara

Ryan S. Uyehara serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under the Biden-Harris Administration.

Prior to coming to OPM, Ryan was the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from February 2021 to May 2023. Health Affairs exercises oversight, and establishes policy for the Military Health System, which delivers healthcare to 9.6M beneficiaries and ensures the medical readiness of our Armed Forces. As Special Assistant, he provided counsel and advice to four different Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Health Affairs, working across the Department of Defense and interagency on a range of health-related matters, including contributing to the COVID-19 response.

Ryan also worked in Congress for Senator Joe Donnelly and Rep. Ami Bera, including as a professional staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation. In working for Rep. Bera, he helped to strengthen relations and policy with India and South Korea.  He was also responsible for the elevation of pandemic preparedness, biodefense, and global health security in Congress prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He planned and organized Congress’ first hearing on COVID-19 in early February 2020.

Ryan served in the United States Army as an Air Defense Artillery Officer from 2010 to 2015, including tours in Korea and Kuwait. He is the son of two Foreign Service Officers, and the grandson of three civil servants.

He graduated from The College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy. He is a Term Member on the Council on Foreign Relations. In his free time, he enjoys lifting, long-distance running, and spending time with his partner, Andrea, and their rescue dog, Earnie.