Tionna Ryan, J.D., is a Texas Law Postgraduate Public Interest Fellow hosted by IDRA. In her fellowship, she is developing and implementing independent, community-driven legal mechanisms to track, report, and address hate crimes and racial bullying in schools.
A native of Eastern North Carolina, Tionna graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with bachelor’s degrees in political science and education in 2020. After graduation, she joined Teach for America in Dallas as an eighth grade English language arts teacher. In the classroom, she recognized parallels to her own upbringing, where students were often pushed out of school and into the criminal system.
While teaching, Tionna earned her master’s of education from Southern Methodist University in 2022, which strengthened her ability to serve her students and deepened her understanding of systemic educational inequities. Her passion for education ultimately inspired her to pursue a legal career.
Tionna earned her law degree from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law (Texas Law) in 2025. During law school, she served as vice president of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, Texas Law’s affiliate chapter of the Black Law Student Association. In this role, she helped organize a symposium on Afrofuturism and the Law, exploring how reimagining a liberated future for people of color could reshape systems of power, including the education system. She was also a member of the Texas Law Society Program as an Academic Success Fellow and research assistant.
During the fall of 2024, she interned with IDRA, where she contributed to an amicus brief on the CROWN Act and hair discrimination in schools.
Through her current fellowship, Tionna continues this work by creating alternative justice and redress pathways for affected students. Her efforts incorporate restorative justice practices, community partnering, legal advocacy, and amicus brief writing to influence both policy and judicial outcomes.
In her free time, Tionna enjoys chatting about reality television, spending time with friends, powerlifting, serving at church and searching for the best burger in Austin.
