Roo Powell is a writer, child advocate, and founder of SOSA, a nonprofit raising awareness and combating online child sex abuse and exploitation. Her writing and work reflect her passion and advocacy for human rights, covering sex trafficking, poverty, race relations, and child wellness.
Her work at SOSA is the center of Undercover Underage, a docuseries following Roo and her team as they work in tandem with law enforcement to apprehend child predators. After a successful Season 1, Undercover Underage was renewed for Season 2, which premiered Spring 2023. Both seasons can be streamed on Max.
Roo has been featured as a writer, speaker, and/or advocate in/at SXSW, Forbes, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, FOX News, Good Morning America, CNN Philippines, The Tamron Hall Show, The Independent, Dr. Phil, Nightline, BuzzFeed, NewsNation, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, Parents, and various other news outlets.
Roo also serves as an advisor to Spectrum Labs, a venture-backed AI company that keeps over 1 billion+ users safe online through text and audio moderation.
More on Roo’s work at SOSA:
SOSA’s work has three prongs: prevention, intervention, and support. SOSA prevents harm by educating communities and advocating for effective legislation, intervene in active abuse by working with law enforcement, and support survivors by connecting them with essential resources.
Their main focus is on intervention — the team partners with ICAC teams to identify and apprehend perpetrators of online child sex abuse. Roo also presents and conducts training sessions for law enforcement, keeping them up-to-date on trending tactics and patterns of behavior.
SOSA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based out of New Haven, Connecticut.