Ryan Croke, First Assistant Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services Illinois Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

Ryan is Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which employs 14,000+ people and provides essential services and benefits to families in every part of the state. From 2006 to 2015, he worked for (Lieutenant) Governor Pat Quinn, ultimately as Chief of Staff to the Governor. He advocated for people with disabilities as Executive Director of the statewide association of Centers for Independent Living, and for students as the Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). Ryan earned undergraduate and master's degrees in communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.