MEET WANDER POWELL-HAYES

Wander Powell-Hayes is the Founder and Executive Director of R.O.C. Restore Our Communities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established on May 5, 1998, in Nashville, Tennessee. For more than two decades, she has dedicated her life to community advocacy, media outreach, youth empowerment, and creating opportunities for positive change. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Wander is a graduate of Wendell Phillips High School and Robert Morris College. She also attended DePaul University. ​ Wander served as an educator with Metro Nashville Public Schools for more than twenty years. During her career, she worked with students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, including students with special needs. As a media professional, Wander has worked as a television host, radio personality, producer, author, playwright, actress, and community advocate. Through ROC, she uses media as a tool to educate, inspire, and connect communities while highlighting individuals and organizations making a difference. Wander is the host and producer of ROC TV, where she interviews community leaders, nonprofit organizations, business professionals, educators, healthcare advocates, and everyday citizens working to improve their communities. Following the loss of her daughter, Rekita M. Powell, to Renal Medullary Carcinoma, also known as RMC, Wander became a passionate advocate for RMC awareness and education. RMC is a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer. Wander is the author of The Great Pretender: RMC—The Deadly and Untold Truth About Sickle Cell Trait and the producer of The Silver Lining, a documentary created to educate the public about this devastating disease. Today, Wander continues to lead ROC Restore Our Communities with a mission to inform, inspire, educate, and empower communities through media, outreach, youth engagement, advocacy, and collaborative partnerships.