WHO WE ARE

Perfectly Said Studio is Ayana Byrd and Kenrya Rankin, two publishing industry veterans with more
than 40 combined years of experience writing and editing everything from tweets to scripts to books.

AYANA BYRD

Principal
Ayana Byrd is an award-winning author, journalist and renowned expert on Black women and beauty politics. She is co-author of the books Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America and the anthology Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips and Other Parts. Her work has appeared in numerous collections, including How We Fight White Supremacy, The Fire This Time: Young Activists and The New Feminism, as well as publications such as The New York Times, L'Uomo Vogue, Fast Company, Glamour, Essence, Vogue Portugal and O, the Oprah Magazine. She has worked on the editorial staffs of Glamour, Rolling Stone and Vibe magazines. Ayana graduated from Barnard College with a degree in political science and earned her masters of fine arts in fiction at St. Joseph's College—Brooklyn.
Pronouns: she/her

KENRYA RANKIN

Principal
Kenrya Rankin is an award-winning author, journalist and editorial consultant whose insight has been tapped by leading outlets, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post and ThinkProgress. She creates dynamic content that amplifies the lived experiences, advocacy and work of people of color, and shifts the narrative around who deserves liberation, justice and dignity in America. She has published five books, including How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including Reader’s Digest, Fast Company and Redbook. She is currently editorial director at Colorlines and she previously worked at Reader's Digest, Latina, Uptown Magazine and ShopSmart. Kenrya earned her bachelors degree in journalism from Howard University, and her masters in publishing from New York University.
Pronouns: she/her