Education

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

Biography

Ryan Poe-Gavlinski is a 2004 graduate of Quinnipiac University School of Law.  She is the Director of the VOCA Restraining Order Clinic  and the 2021 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 Shool, 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 VOCA Restraining Order Clinic received the Innovator of the Year Award in 2019 from the Wisconsin State Bar.  In addition, Ryan received an 2020 Crime Victim Service Award Honorable Mention for Outstanding Victim Advocacy from the Wisconsin Victim/Witness Professional Association.

In addition to her work with the VOCA Clinic, Ryan also serves as a Guaridan ad Litem in Dane County and is a member of the Leadership Development Committee of the Wisconsin State Bar.  She is also a recent graduate of the Wisconsin State Bar's G. Lane Ware Leadership Program.