Newly elected 2026 Council Chair Randall Ryti

Staff Report

Each January Los Alamos County Council elects its new leadership from among its members. At Tuesday’s meeting, Council unanimously elected Randall Ryti to serve as chair and Ryn Hermann as vice chair for the 2026 term.

Voters first elected Ryti to serve on the County Council in the November 2018 General Election. He was re-elected to a second term in November 2022, which ends on Dec. 31, 2026.

Ryti has lived in Los Alamos since 1992. He came to start a small business, Neptune and Company, with four other scientists. In addition to helping lead a successful small business and raising a family in Los Alamos, he has volunteered for community organizations such as the Pajarito Environmental Education Center Board and the Los Alamos County District Science Fair committee. Ryti served as a Los Alamos County Transportation Board member from 2012 to 2016, chair from 2014-2016.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Before retiring from Neptune and Company in 2018, he worked on basic and applied environmental problems, including ecological and human health risk assessments for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Hanford Site, and other clients. Ryti said he enjoyed campaigning for re-election, particularly meeting voters while knocking on doors, and is committed to continuing to get and use community input to help make decisions while on the Council.

Newly elected 2026 Council Vice Chair Ryn Herrmann

During Tuesday’s meeting, Council also elected Ryn Herrmann to serve as vice chair for 2026. Voters elected her to the County Council in the November 2024 general election. Her term expires on Dec. 31, 2028.

Herrmann is originally from Spokane, Wash., and earned a BA in Business from Gonzaga University. She and her husband Hans have lived in Los Alamos for 30 years. Herrmann was a stay-at-home mom for 17 years and then worked for the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation (LACDC) for 10 years. While working for the LACDC, Herrmann was director of the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce for seven years, retiring from that role in August of 2024.

Herrmann has been involved in the Los Alamos community in many different areas. She served on the Los Alamos County Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board for six years, five years as chair. She was part of the Bradbury Science Museum Association (BSMA) Board for eight years, serving as president and secretary. Herrmann started the Gadgets Museum Gift Shop inside the Bradbury as her project for the Leadership Los Alamos program in 2016. Since then, proceeds from the shop have allowed thousands of students from around northern New Mexico to visit the science museum on field trips funded by the BSMA.

Herrmann was a Girl Scout Leader for 13 years. She also volunteered as a host of the Friday Night Summer Concerts for four years. She led the Los Alamos Business Accelerator program for three years, helping many entrepreneurs launch successful local businesses. In 2023, Herrmann received the Leadership Los Alamos Distinguished Leader Award. She has also been a finalist for a New Mexico Hospitality Association Top Hat Award, for her contributions to local tourism. In 2024, Herrmann was awarded the Local Hero Award of Excellence from the Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for her work with the local business community.