Soar Solutions Youth Center

The CEO & Founder of Soar Solutions Youth Center in Bakersfield, CA, knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up in an underserved community. She wasn’t taught to dream big, believe in herself, or even support others. No one ever told her, "You can start your own business." Instead, the focus was always on survival getting a job, making ends meet, and just getting by.

But she knew life was about more than just surviving. She believed that young people deserved a space where they could learn, dream, and grow something she never had. Soar Solutions Youth Center was created to help youth build their dreams, expand on them, or even rebuild after setbacks. Through mentorship and guidance, the center teaches them that every decision comes with a consequence good or bad and that they have the power to shape their future wisely.

For her, Soar Solutions Youth Center is deeply personal. It is dedicated to her first cousins, who were placed in foster care and lived in Oakland with a great aunt. Her cousins were her safe place every school break, she made the trip to see them, tutor the girls, and remind them they were not alone. She planned her life around the cousin who was the same age as her seeking success for the both of them and determined to see them all win.

That same passion now fuels the work of Soar Solutions Youth Center. It is more than just a program it is a safe space where young people, especially foster youth, can heal, grow, and be supported as they create their futures. No matter what life has thrown at them, they are still here, and that means they still have a purpose.