​Greg Ryken is a 3rd generation San Franciscan. His paternal grandfather, Franciscus Ryken (Rijken) was born in the Netherlands in 1854 and immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1881. He was a violinist in the volunteer San Francisco Symphony and ran a cigar store at the corner of Commercial and Leidesdorff Streets in San Francisco. His wife was Ellen Brady from County Cavan, Ireland.

Mr. Ryken’s maternal grandfather was William R. Hagerty, who was born in 1866 in Aurora, Illinois and immigrated to San Francisco in 1902. Mr. Hagerty was the clerk of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors between 1910 and 1913. In that position, he was part of an expedition that surveyed Hetch Hetchy Dam site in 1910 with the Board of Supervisors and City engineers. Later Mr. Hagerty became a lawyer. He first worked in the District Attorney’s Office and later in private practice. He and his wife, Anne McLaughlin, were married in 1906, just before the earthquake and fire.

Mr. Ryken’s father was born in Oakland in January 1897 and died in July 1990. He was the General Sales Manager for Pacific Far East Lines for about 20 years before he retired.

 

Mr. Ryken was born in 1947 and attended St. Vincent de Paul grammar school, St. Ignatius High School, the University of San Francisco (with his junior year at Loyola University, Chicago’s Rome campus); and Hastings College of the Law. He was married in 1973 to Dori Ryken.
 

For the two years after he graduated from law school. Mr. Ryken taught legal research and writing at Hastings Law School. Mr. Ryken was also the law clerk to the Presiding Judge of the San Francisco Superior Court for a year. He was employed as an associate attorney in a surety bond and construction law firm until 1977 when he left the firm and became an attorney-advisor in the Offices of the Secretary of the Interior in Washington, D.C.

At the Interior Department, Mr. Ryken, among other tasks, acted as staff to the Secretary of the Interior who sat on the Board of the Pennsylvania Development Corporation (PADC) and would advise the Secretary regarding development issues. Mr. Ryken also, on occasion, sat on the Board of the PADC when the Secretary could not. He wrote the development regulations for the PADC which governed how all projects in the PADC area would be chosen.

 

After he returned to San Francisco in 1980, he first worked in Quintin Kopp’s law firm; then he, Dick Spotswood, and Milt Jacobs formed their own firm. The firm lasted until 1993; thereafter, Mr. Ryken worked as Of Counsel with several law firms until 2011. Next, Mr. Ryken worked by himself until 2024 when he retired. Mr. Ryken specialized in real estate, construction, and business litigation while he was practicing law, largely representing wealthy individuals, owners of real estate, and landlords.

While he was practicing law, Mr. Ryken was also involved in civic affairs. He belonged to the Yerba Buena Democratic Club (YBDC) and was president between 1972 to 1974. The YBDC in the 1970’s was the largest democratic club in San Francisco; its members, including Mr. Ryken, were involved in many political campaigns.

When Mr. Ryken returned from D.C. in 1980, he became involved with the Foundation for San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage (now San Francisco Architectural Heritage) as its attorney. In 1989, he joined the Board of Directors of Heritage; between 1992 and 1994, Mr. Ryken was the president of Heritage; and he remained on the Board until 2000.

At the urging of Neil Chaitin, between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Ryken was on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association (SFMNPA) and between 2007 and 2008 was the vice-president in charge of the Festival of Sail which brought a collection of Tall Ships from all over the world to San Francisco for a 4-day event in July 2008.

 

In 2010, Mr. Ryken joined the Board of Directors of the Ft. Mason Center, and he remained on the Board until 2016.

In 1994, Mr. Ryken joined Sacramento Seminar and has been a proud seminarian since that day.