Rayna's Life
Lawyer turned strategic communicator / storyteller
Rayna is an Ivy League-trained attorney, legal and social issues commentator, and literacy advocate. She has over a decade of experience working in education, policy, HR, law, and the entertainment industry.
Blending her legal expertise and passion for storytelling, Rayna regularly writes for Essence and has interviewed NBA player Stephen Curry, Jay Ellis from Insecure, Matt James of The Bachelor franchise, and author Femi Fadubga whose novel, The Upper World, is being adapted into a Netflix film starring and produced by Daniel Kaluuya from Get Out.
A fitness fanatic, she knows the importance of going the extra mile, having completed several marathons and triathlons, even an Ironman. Rayna is also a former state and local titleholder with the Miss America and Miss Earth organizations.
Rayna received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where she majored in Industrial and Labor Relations with a minor in Inequality Studies. She has two master’s degrees—one in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, and another in Mass Communication Studies from the University of Houston. Rayna is a graduate of Columbia Law School and is admitted to the New York state bar.
