Meet The Founder of Purple Angels

Today, Latoya, a single parent of three beautiful children ages 10, 13, and 19. Latoya is a proud parent that loves to travel, read, bike ride, watch movies and play sports with my children. She motivates her children to take an educational path. Education was not at the forefront with her parents, so she decided to break barriers. Latoya attended Valencia Community College and the University of Central Florida and earned two degrees. Latoya is a member of Phi Alpha Honors Society, National Association of Social Work, and served on the Youth Action Board and theHomeless Service Network Board. Latoya has a bachelor’s in Social Work and a master’s in social work from Florida State University.

 She is a big advocate for community service. Latoya had the pleasure of volunteering at the Women's Shelter (WRCC), Coalition for the Homeless, Orange Country Park and Recreation, Easter Seal Adult Daycare, Youth Farm Work Ministry, Big Bear Counseling Services, The River of Life Christian Center, Lockhart Baptist Church, and Lockhart Elementary. Community involvement is vital for youth because it helps them learning team-building skills while strengthening the community. Latoya’s favorite quote is:

There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.

-Nelson Mandela

Latoya Sheffield is the founder and CEO of the Purple Angels. For as long as she can remember, Latoya felt overjoyed when she gives back and empower others with encouraging insight. Latoya host faith-based empowerment session with girls to provide a foundation for life skills and support. Latoya is optimistic and loves to apply faith when life challenges her. Latoya focuses on positive aspects.  With her passion, she has created a system that supports and foster the supreme ability that every girl obtains. She believes it takes a community to make a positive impact on the outcome of our youth. Through mentorship, she builds confidence and bridge resources that support the growth of girls. Latoya believes girls are the future and they are powerful, confident, and smart.

 Growing up, she endured many challenges, experiencing abandonment issues and low self-awareness. Her mother suffered from addiction, and her father was absent. She underwent physical abuse when she was nine years old. As a result, she was removed from the home and sent to a children's group home for approximately ten years. After aging out of foster care and becoming pregnant, she was forced to encounter adult responsibilities as a teen. With a lack of life skills, she had to learn fast. There was a lot of barriers in the way, but Latoya refused to let life consume her. She believes in viewing every storm as a lesson to apply later. She is truly honored to empower girls finding that every negative statistics percentage decreases due to the influence of mentorship.

Meet Our Team Members