Multi-faceted artist and producer, Ryan Nicole Austin finds her most fulfilling professional experiences at the intersection of art and activism. For nearly 20 years she has been committed to a career in theater, music and arts administration that transforms community by way of empowerment. As an actress, Ryan has most notably appeared as Bessie in Native Son (Marin Theater Company), BARS (Public Theater), Ruth in A Raisin in The Sun (Cal Shakes). She’s performed at Google, Sony and shared the stage with Barack Obama.

She’s a 2017 SF Foundation Community Leadership Award nominee and California State Assembly recognized her for her contribution to the arts. She was Executive Director of Youth Movement Records, where she supported the aspirations of thousands of under-resourced young people in the Bay Area seeking careers in the arts. Most recently, Ryan led workshops on performance as the playwright-in- residence at New York’s Public Theater and will perform at the National Performers Network Annual conference at Yerba Buena Center in December 2017. Multi-faceted artist and producer, Ryan Nicole Austin finds her most fulfilling professional experiences at the intersection of art and activism. For nearly 20 years she has been committed to a career in theater, music and arts administration that transforms community by way of empowerment. As an actress, Ryan has most notably appeared as Bessie in Native Son (Marin Theater Company), BARS (Public Theater), Ruth in A Raisin in The Sun (Cal Shakes). She’s a 2017 SF Foundation Community Leadership Award nominee and California State Assembly recognized her for her contribution to the arts. She was Executive Director of Youth Movement Records, where she supported the aspirations of thousands of under-resourced young people in the Bay Area seeking careers in the arts. Most recently, Ryan led workshops on performance as the playwright-in- residence at New York’s Public Theater and will perform at the National Performers Network Annual conference at Yerba Buena Center in December 2017. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx