Ryan is co-director and head curator of San Diego Underground Film Festival (MovieMaker Magazine Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee), has programmed for Slamdance Film Festival, has taught Adjunct at CalArts, and is currently a Lecturer at UC San Diego in the Cinematic Arts Program.

His films have screened at Fantasia, Slamdance, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Porto Post/Doc, Hammer Museum, REDCAT, Desert Daze, and have won awards at Slamdance, Athens International Film and Video Festival, Indie Memphis, Arizona Underground.

His band Shrine Maiden's album And I Arise was named one the Top 10 Experimental Albums of 2020 by Outtallectuals zine. Their 4th album is due out October 31st 2025 on Whited Sepulchre Records.

Ryan holds an MFA in Film/Video from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and a BA in Visual Art from UC San Diego.