Meet Dr. Anissa McNeil of Education Works Consulting Firm in Diamond Bar and West Covina

Today we’d like to introduce to you Dr. Anissa McNeil.

Anissa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I came to Los Angeles to attend college. I attended and graduated from California State University Los Angeles (CSULA). While attending CSULA I volunteered in shelter care for foster youth and later became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

My volunteer work was so rewarding especially because I am a former foster youth. I continued to volunteer as a CASA- LA and later became a board member CASA-LA. I believe I am the first former foster youth to ever serve as a board member of CASA-LA.

Upon graduating with my doctoral degree from Pepperdine University, I founded Education Works Consulting Firm, Inc. Education Works Consulting Firm, Inc. is dedicated to provide expert consultant services for organizations who serve marginalized, underserved, impoverished, and homeless community members. We want to help organizations realized their mission and vision. Ultimately, to be change agents!
This work led us to work with organization such as CalWORKS and LA County Public Health Dept. For ten years, we have provided service to organizations, five years served as education rights holders for foster youth and worked tirelessly to provide expert education consultant services to facilitate a change in our client’s organization and community member’s lives.

My maternal grandmother passed away 5 years ago and in her memory I created the Unstoppable Awards. My grandmother was my legal guardian after I left foster care and she raised my brother and I. The Unstoppable Awards is a nonprofit organization which provides scholarships to foster youth who are graduating high school seniors, who have a 2.3 to 3.2 GPA, have overcome significant challenges, and have been accepted to trade school, a college, or university. We provide scholarship awards to foster youth who reside in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. We also provide Unstoppable Angels who escort our scholarship college or their to awardees to their college or university, attend orientation, and purchase all supplies needed to move into the dorm.

As I began to promote and share the Unstoppable Awards, I was constantly bombarded with the comment and question “You’re a former foster youth how did you obtain four college degrees?” Many looked and commented in disbelief and simply shock and awh! There are approximately 35,000 foster youth in Southern California, 50% will graduate from high school, 10% will attend college, and 3% will graduate from college. Yes, I beat the norm.

This response coupled with my experience in foster care led me to start the Foster 2 Foster Radio Show. It is a weekly radio show which discuss questions, thoughts, and concerns expressed by foster youth in our community. We also highlight community agencies and resources for foster youth, discuss recent legislation, and promote community involvement to assist foster youth. The radio show is distributed to iTunes, TuneIn, and can also been viewed as a podcast on YouTube. I do the work and I tell the stories of foster youth as host of the Foster 2 Foster Radio Show. Foster 2 Foster Radio Show will air on a new station MORE Radio Network starting March 7, 2020. Be sure to tune in!

The radio show allowed me to receive calls and emails from foster youth nationwide. I began to examine systems worldwide for children who do not have parents. This data lead to my awareness of the great education disparity of orphans in developing countries to receive a quality education. I know that education works and is the greatest equalizer! The data and my deep belief that every foster youth or orphan need a quality education to interrupt the horrific statistics and have a sustainable livelihood. I developed our Global Orphan Education Program is designed to build and develop sustainable education programs for orphans worldwide. Currently, we partner with organizations in Haiti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Our goal is to develop and build quality schools, education programs, and education services so that orphans and vulnerable children can create and have a sustainable livelihood. I am thrilled and overjoyed that we are going into our 4th year! We desired to be change agents!

In the midst of this work, we concluded our work with a county clinic on trauma informed care. Working with community members and clinic throughout Los Angeles county, I began to see the need for Mental Health services and identified gaps. This led to our grand opening in November 2019, of our Mental Health and Social Justice Clinic. Our clinic provides trauma informed individual and group therapy, comprehensive evaluations, and trauma informed yoga, art, and dance.

We desire to put “health” into the words mental health by providing therapy and evidenced based practice so that our community members can lead healthy lives. We accept all major insurances including Medical and Medicare. We are thrilled to provide service for survivors of human and sex trafficking, domestic violence and violent crimes. Our team of licensed therapist and case managers want to make a difference in the lives of our clients.

I have dedicated my life to providing hope and a pathway to change the lives of underserved, marginalized, and impoverished people. I am a change agent!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The race is not given to the swift nor the strong but the one who can endure to the end. I live by this biblical verse. Building a company, nonprofit, radio show, and mental health organization is not easy.
I don’t focused on the challenges. There will always be challenges. Enough to make your head spin at times. I remain solution-based.

I work hard daily to realize the goals and mission of each entity and department. Many days begin at 4am to serve our schools and partners in other countries and end at 8pm as we close the Mental Health and Social Justice Clinic. The race is not given to the swift nor the strong but the one who can endure to the end. I am building a legacy!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I shared about my business Education Works Consulting Firm Inc, nonprofit- Unstoppable Awards, and radio show Foster 2 Foster Radio show. What sets Education Works Consulting Firm, Inc apart is that we are experts who have the skill, knowledge, and passion to develop sustainable education programs to create change. We are global change agents!

I am also focused on the continually development and achievement of foster youth here in the US. The Unstoppable Awards and Foster 2 Foster Radio show allow me the opportunity to continually provide information and scholarships to interrupt the statistics and make foster youth unstoppable. This work is important and is a constant focus.

What were you like growing up?
I am 6″2 inches tall African-American woman. Needless to say as a child, I was an athlete and a scholar. I was short-tempered and fought a lot while in foster care and shortly after, I began to live with my grandmother. After I settled into my grandmother’s house, I focused on being a scholar and living in my skin. It wasn’t easy being the tallest girl in the school. I was a tall, curious, smart little girl who loved to read and write, play school with her friends, and be the teacher. Now, I am a global teacher and change agent. If I had a chance to tell my 6 year old self anything it would be…”Anissa keep reading baby and don’t forget you like to dance!”

Contact Info:

• Address: Corporate Office:
  1142 S. Diamond Bar Blvd #834
  Diamond Bar, CA 91765
• Website: www.edworks4u.org and www.unstoppableawards.org
• Phone: 213-634-0044
• Email: [email protected]

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.