Born and raised on Southern cooking and rich culture, Kiana’s passion and hope has led him to work helping rebuild communities and lives. During his long hiatus inside, Kiana developed skills to apply outside. His work has ranged from supporting fair and equal pay to voting rights for the formerly incarcerated. Kiana founded  Project Detour, a non-profit mentor organization working with at-risk youth. Kiana joined Roots in 2017 as Program Manager where he assisted the Construction Crew Leader and managed the organization’s mentorship program with participants. In 2020, he became Roots' Executive Director. Kiana fundamentally believes  that no matter what our own personal advantages or disadvantages are, we all have parts to play to make our country and communities great.