A native of Washington DC, Ray holds an AB degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a JD from Syracuse University. A practicing attorney from 1973 to 2014, he also held a variety of community leadership positions in New York State, including roles in his church, local school system, the Rotary Club, and Masonry. Ray was also a director of two insurance companies as well as the head of his local bar association. Prior to moving to Virginia, Ray was a past chancellor and national trustee for the Empire State Society – Sons of the American Revolution.