Healing a community requires healing its citizens, and nowhere can healing do more immediate good than with children. Dr. Lateshia Woodley has dedicated her life to helping children within underserved school systems. Her focus is on strengthening the mental and emotional health of students, which she believes serves as the foundation of community-wide healing.
“I really and truly decided to dedicate my life to making a difference in the lives of kids who had some of the same struggles I did growing up,” says Dr. Woodley. “So, for the past two decades, that's the work that I've been doing: from being a teacher, to a counselor, to a principal, all the way to assistant superintendent.”
Dr. Woodley’s background drove her to build her business: Dynamic Achievement Solutions, LLC (DAS). DAS is a counseling and educational consulting firm that works to transform communities that have historically been promised investment but might not have seen that investment materialize meaningfully. She works with educational institutions to combat mental health stigmas and improve the overall well-being of the communities in which they exist.
“I decided after working as an assistant superintendent and seeing some of the concerns in the communities that I was a part of, that I wanted to have a greater impact and a greater reach,” she explains.
Dr. Woodley had a vision and clients. All she needed were the funds to expand her physical space and grow her mission in East Point. She learned about the Atlanta Open for Business Fund from Invest Atlanta and applied for a low-interest loan through the Atlanta Recovery Loan Program.
The Atlanta Open for Business Fund is designed to help small business owners in Atlanta build wealth by investing in assets such as commercial space, equipment and technology. It is supported by a generous donation of $20 million from Wells Fargo to help Atlanta businesses impacted by the pandemic recover.
“We know that it's difficult, more difficult for entrepreneurs of color to get funding in this financial space,” Dr. Woodley says. “And so, Invest Atlanta provides this avenue to make sure that we have an equal playing field and we're able to be competitors in this global marketplace.”. She says being approved for this loan means she has the funds she needs to keep her business moving forward.
“If [the Open for Business Fund] didn't come through for our funds, I don't see how we would be able to continue the work that we've been doing. This has had such a great impact in the community,” she says.
The funding will allow her to create a center of operations, event space, a community garden and an individual counseling office. You can learn more about Dynamic Achievement Solutions and the services provided by visiting their website.