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“When you know what you want, you will recognize it when you see it.”

The socially conscious comedian Bill Cosby is fond of speaking those words, ones WAMU’s director of corporate marketing, Anthony Hayes, takes to heart. A Washingtonian whose roots are revealed in a fading New York accent, Hayes is intently focused each and every day on securing a strong financial future for the radio station he loves.

With a bright personality and an unfailingly positive attitude, Hayes seems perfectly suited to meet the challenge of convincing corporations that underwriting WAMU programming is the best way for them to reach their public. He begins each day with a devotional and ends weekly meetings with a motivational tidbit, like the one from Cosby, for his staff of five to chew on.

“He’s a very driven person,” said Caryn Mathes, WAMU’s general manager. “Goals really matter to him, and as soon as he attains one he’s on to the next. He has boundless energy, boundless creativity. He wants to build a strong, excited team around him. He’s the one with the pep talks and the little quips and sayings and motivators. He’s a real spark plug kind of guy.”

Hayes’s motor has run full throttle since his childhood in Queens.

“My mother used to tell me that when I was a kid, I was always hands-on,” he said. “I can’t stand sitting behind a desk.”

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Passionate about music—Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5 were two of his favorites growing up—Hayes studied engineering at the New York Institute of Technology with an eye on entering the record business. After seven years as an engineer at an AM news station in New York, Hayes’s boss, keenly aware of his easy manner with studio guests, suggested that he try his hand at sales.

He found that his personality was well suited to his new career, and he soon hit his stride at WCBS, the No. 1 station in the No. 1 market in America.

“We were the main revenue generators for the station, it was very exciting,” he said. “You’re not expected to be in the office, you need to be out on the road.”

Seeking a more family-friendly lifestyle than New York could offer, Hayes and his wife, Sherrie, relocated to the Washington area (the nation’s eighth-largest radio market) in 1997. Today, they live with sons Christian, 12, Armani, 8, and Bryce, 5, in Northern Virginia.

Hayes came to WAMU in 2003, and while he spends more time than he’d like behind the desk in his fifth-floor corner office, he does get out often to meet with clients.

“I want companies to know that they can contact me directly about anything on their minds,” he said. “We provide a valuable service to the community, and it is special knowing that we’re helping make a difference.”

Always one with an artistic flair, Hayes for years has written poetry in his free time as a way to express himself and relieve stress. He hopes to one day publish a book of his work.

“At first, it was to attract ladies,” he said, smiling. “But I’m a married man now, so they tend to be mostly love poems to my wife. I love the freedom [writing] allows me. It allows me to take time out and be creative. It’s a form of therapy.” —MU