Alysha Haran

Alysha grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, performing on the professional stage from the age of five. She found her place on the other side of the camera and produced commercials and music videos for several years in Los Angeles. But after a last-minute change of plans kept her from traveling on September 11th, she put her career on hold and enlisted in the US Navy. Seventeen years of active duty took her all over the world, from the NSA to Bahrain and many years afloat as Surface Warfare Officer. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Directing from University of San Diego, a Masters in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) from Wilkes University and a Masters in Japanese Studies from Sophia University in Tokyo. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild for playwriting and has won numerous awards for her short film scripts and screenplays.

I wrote "The Ride" after reading a shocking statistic - while veterans comprise only 6% of the US population, they account for 25% of suicides every year. Having had to navigate my own transition out of the military, I wanted to write a film that would bring attention to the silent struggle veterans face when trying to figure how to come home from combat in body, mind, and soul.