Naya Ryan

I first found creative freedom through writing in the otherwise conservative environment of rural Tennessee. I was a young trans kid without the language to express myself or the awareness of how I craved to be seen. Writing started as a solitary practice for me, but it grew as I found community. My first taste of storytelling in community was the theater. After moving to San Francisco, I sought to reconnect with myself. I became a children’s author who then transitioned into a screenwriter, when I discovered the power of a script. With support from the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, I directed a short film. I realized a deep passion for co-creating spaces for marginalized voices to be seen and heard. I am driven to tell the stories on the fringes of society, and to highlight these communities with care and authenticity. --Rashad