Shay Renee is the founder and principal consultant of Rooted Impact Consulting LLC, a firm focused on storytelling, community engagement, and equity-centered strategy. Through her work, she partners with organizations, institutions, and community leaders to build authentic connections, strengthen brand narratives, and develop initiatives that center trust and lived experience.

Her professional experience includes work with Disability Rights & Resources, where she engaged in advocacy and support efforts for individuals navigating disability services and access. She has also been connected to youth development through the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club, contributing to spaces that support growth, mentorship, and opportunity for young people in the community.

Shay has led and supported a range of community-based initiatives, including Operation Dignity, a multi-part effort that provided essential resources and direct support to hundreds of individuals across Birmingham. Her work often sits at the intersection of community voice, strategic planning, and public engagement, with a focus on solutions that are both practical and culturally responsive.

She serves as an anchor partner for the StoryCorps Mobile Tour in Alabama, helping facilitate national storytelling efforts at the local level. In this role, she works across cities and organizations to coordinate participation, amplify community voices, and support meaningful narrative collection.

Her work has been featured across major media outlets including ABC 33/40, WBRC Fox 6, CBS 42, and WVTM 13. She is also a Community Practitioner in Residence alum through Miles College and has completed coursework through Harvard Business School Online in leadership and bias awareness.

In addition to her professional work, Shay’s perspective is shaped by her lived experience as a mother navigating systems of care and support. As a parent of a neurodivergent child, she brings a deeply personal understanding of advocacy, resilience, and the importance of accessible and responsive community systems.

Across all of her work, Shay focuses on bridging gaps between institutions and historically marginalized communities, using storytelling as a tool for connection, visibility, and long-term impact.