May 2022 - LaToya Guillory

La’Toya was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but spent most of her life traveling with her military family. She has lived in the Acadiana area for over twenty years. She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2006, with her bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies. She completed her master’s degree in human services counseling with Specialization in Marriage and Family in 2017. Upon obtaining her master’s degree, she became a certified Marriage Enrichment Facilitator using the Prepare and Enrich curriculum. She also received her SYMBIS certification in 2019. Through these certifications she is able to empower people through marriage enrichment, premarital counseling, couples group counseling, and more. She has over sixteen years of experience in the human services field. Her experience comes from positions held in Therapeutic Foster Care, Case Management, and Behavioral/Mental Health.

La’Toya and husband founded The Family Connection Inc. in April 2018. The Family Connection Inc. is a non-profit that offers life skills, counseling services, case management, transitional housing services, educational development, and career guidance for older foster care youth. Their passion is to reach families and assist them in reaching their full potential.

She was recently honored as one of Acadiana's top 20 under 40 young leaders in 2018. She is actively involved in her community and enjoys seeing relationships prosper. She is a member of The Social Service Network, Connections Women’s Professional Network, W.O.W (Women of Wisdom) and The Arch (Acadiana Region Coalition on Homelessness). She is also a part of the planning committee for the UL Women's Leadership Conference and sits on the Member Engagement committee for the UL Christiana Smith African American Alumni Chapter.

La’Toya is the owner and founder of Empowered with Purpose LLC, where she serves as a Relationship Coach. She is also the author of Anchored: Anchored in Christ, Anchored in Marriage which can be found on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, Ingram Spark, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, and Attakapas Collective. Her mission in life is to help people recognize their strengths and utilize them in every aspect of relationships.