She was recently promoted to the paper’s masthead to help lead the reshaping of the Times newsroom through a major recruitment of new talent. Ryan has deep roots in political journalism. She helped lead The New York Times to a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for its coverage of the downfall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, and two years later oversaw an investigation into mistreatment of the developmentally disabled, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.