Ranen Miao

Ranen is a proud New Jerseyan and a MPA/J.D. joint degree student committed to civil rights advocacy with a focus on racial equity, gender justice, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Originally from Edison, New Jersey, he went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied political science, sociology, and women, gender, and sexuality studies. In college, Ranen served two terms as student body president and interned with the ACLU, EEOC, State Department, Abortion Action Missouri, and three Congressional offices, working on HIV decriminalization, reproductive freedom, anti-discrimination policies, immigration policy, and building employment pipelines for underrepresented groups. After graduating, he moved to Washington and founded OutVote, a nonprofit building a culture of civic engagement in the LGBTQIA+ community. He has also worked as a paralegal at a plaintiffs’ firm working on environmental issues, published a report on LGBTQIA+ food insecurity with the D.C. City Government, and conducted research at the Brookings Institution, where he worked this past summer. In his free time, Ranen enjoys biking, curling up with a good book, or catching up with friends over a great meal.