Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Ryanna often states that she was immersed in intercultural communication from an early age. Adopted by a mother of a different color, she learned that love and humanity come from respect, inner-peace, and the natural human element of love. Now a DC transplant, Ryanna Miller is a realtor for Compass. As part of the Greater Capital Area Team, she specializes in first-time homebuyers, international clientele, investments, and more recently focusing on Opportunity Zones. As an entrepreneur, she currently owns businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

 

Prior to becoming a realtor, Ryanna worked as the Director of Public-Private Partnerships at Sou Sou, a DC-based financial technology firm that is working to bridge the global access to capital gap. In 2018, she was a featured speaker at the Concordia Summit on best practices for emerging international development and technology as it relates to women. Ryanna graduated Summa Cum Laude from Alabama A&M University in 2013 with a B.A. in Political Science. At Alabama A&M, she served as president of the Pre-Law Society, was the student liaison for the County Commission and the university, and studied as a U.S. Department of State Benjamin A. Gilman Scholar through the Duke University program on Global Health Issues in South Africa, in which she spent a summer conducting rigorous research in the rural villages of Limpopo Province, Humakuya District. 

 

She is now a 2019-2020 Gilman Alumni Ambassador.  Over the next year, she will present at conferences such as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Institute and the CIEE Conference in Brooklyn, NY, on how her study abroad experience propelled her academic and professional career. 

 

In 2017, Ryanna received her M.A. in International Relations from American University's School of International Service, concentrating on Conflict Resolution and International Negotiation.  While at American she focused her research on Intercultural Communication, post-war transitions, and implementing strategies for conflict-affected communities as it relates to customs and norms of the particular culture. She is also a Robert S. Brookings Society Member through the Brookings Institute and apart of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). 

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While serving on the board for local nonprofit, she began to hear from DC students, in particular, Ward 7 & 8, that did not know the purpose of an embassy, had never traveled outside of the DMV area, and had absent knowledge of which to some, seemingly basic global affairs. She understood many family structures and educational institutions are lacking access to programs that support diverse populations to learn, study, and work within international affairs. 

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Understanding that many school districts, schools, and teachers are overworked and underfunded, Ryanna teamed up with Ayanna to begin to think of ways to help students through education, exposure, and therefore access to the field of international relations. She seeks to promote that with personal health and peace, you can then find your purpose and passions and work towards implementing those within the global workforce. She often tells students to look outside of their current walls, look past any limitations, and only see a clear positive path for making a better world.