There are certain voices that seem to operate at a different frequency, voices that do more than just communicate-they resonate. They carry the weight of experience, the clarity of conviction, and the warmth of a deeply held faith. Anita D. Russell has such a voice. Whether it is emanating from a podcast microphone, guiding a tense workshop discussion, or coaching a client through a moment of profound self-doubt, her voice is, as she herself describes it, “unmistakable: strategic, empowering, and unshakably rooted in truth.” It is the primary instrument of her life’s work, which is not merely to coach or to consult, but to build movement.
As the founder and CEO of The Place to SOAR, Anita is a personal transformation expert, an author, a speaker, and an antiracism activist. But these titles feel like insufficient containers for the sheer energy of her mission. She operates at the critical intersection of personal development and social justice, a place where the redesign of the self becomes the blueprint for the reimagining of the world. Her work is a dynamic fusion of faith, sharp intellect, and what she calls “firebrand leadership,” a potent combination she wields to ignite everything from individual confidence to community-wide economic collaboration.
The Blueprint of a Transformer
The blueprint for Anita’s unique lens on the world was shaped in the close-knit community of Homestead, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was raised in an environment that instilled in her a deep love for community, a reverence for education, and an abiding faith. Her educational journey is like a string of pearls designed over a lifetime. She studied biology at the University of Pittsburgh and became a research scientist at the university after graduation. She then left her home city of Pittsburgh and transitioned into the pharmaceutical industry in central New Jersey. In this phase of her career, she mastered leadership development and rounded out her formal education with a Master’s in Education Leadership.
After a nearly 23-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, Anita left the corporate environment and entered the world of social entrepreneurship. This decision, coupled with a formal Life Coaching Certification, gave her the tools to build her own vision. Anita’s leadership development experiences and life coaching certification created a unique lens for understanding both the science of human behavior and the art of human transformation.
This diverse background—a blend of science, corporate strategy, and social innovation—was sharpened by lived experience. Navigating racial barriers and leading diversity efforts in corporate America ignited a passion for a different kind of work, one rooted in personal transformation and social empowerment. These moments taught her a fundamental truth that would become the cornerstone of Anita’s philosophy: “Lasting change begins from the inside out and that transformation on a personal level can ripple outward into communities and systems.”
The Courage to SOAR
In 2017, Anita returned to Pittsburgh, took a leap, and founded The Place to SOAR, LLC. The name is not just a brand; it is the codification of her personal philosophy. SOAR is an acronym for “Step Out And Redesign,” a transformative process she herself experienced when she left the corporate world. It is the very same process she now guides her clients through: building Self-Awareness, taking Ownership of one’s journey, practicing Accountability, and embracing Resilience.
“The mission was shaped by my own truths,” Anita says, “that empowerment is cultivated within, and that dismantling racism requires courageous conversations paired with intentional action.” The Place to SOAR was therefore conceived as more than just a life coaching business. It was designed as a space where the deeply personal work of inner development intersects with the critically important work of social impact. It is a place to build a stronger self in order to build a better world.
Navigating the ‘False Peace’ of Silence
The clients who find their way to Anita are often at a crossroads. They are predominantly women leaders, professionals, and community advocates, many of whom are navigating the complex realities of being Black or members of other marginalized communities in environments not built for them. They come to her facing a constellation of challenges: persistent self-doubt, the exhausting weight of systemic barriers, and what she astutely calls “the false peace of silence in the face of injustice.”
The emotional struggles are deep and resonant. Anita works with women who are grappling with the fear of speaking out, of being labeled “too much” or “too angry.” She guides them as they navigate the complexities of their own identity in professional or social spaces that can feel hostile or invalidating. Above all, she helps them reconnect with a sense of purpose that may have been eroded by years of conforming, compromising, or simply trying to survive. Her work is to help them find their voice again and the courage to use it.
Building the BRIDGE to Empowerment
To guide her clients from a place of uncertainty to one of empowered action, Anita developed a core framework she calls the Personal Transformation BRIDGE. This is the practical, actionable methodology at the heart of her coaching. The journey across this chasm is a structured passage built on six foundational principles. Each letter of the acronym represents a crucial pillar in this journey:
- Belief system redesign
- Resilience building
- Integrated holistic living
- Determined action
- Growth mindset
- Empowered living
Anita uses a combination of traditional coaching, dynamic workshops, creative media, and insightful discussion guides to help her clients cross this bridge. The ultimate goal is to equip them with the tools they need to live with intention and to lead with a newfound sense of courage and clarity.
An Inflexion Point: A George Floyd Origin Story
On May 25, 2020, the world witnessed the murder of George Floyd, and for millions, it became a moment of profound and painful reckoning. For Anita, it was a catalyst. “The InflexionPoint Podcast was born out of deep grief and the urgency to act that I felt after the murder of George Floyd,” she says. The event was not just a news story; it was a personal call to action, what she refers to as her “George Floyd origin story.”
The podcast, produced on The Transformation Network, became her channel for that grief, her platform for that urgency. It was a way to move beyond the echo chamber of outrage and into the vital, necessary space of dialogue and solution-building. The podcast tackles the hard topics—antiracism, community engagement, and global equity—head-on. It is a curated space for conversation, bringing together a diversity of voices to illuminate both the daunting scale of systemic challenges and the inspiring power of grassroots community solutions.
For Anita, the podcast is a living embodiment of her belief that true transformation requires active listening. It is her way of modeling how to hold space for difficult conversations and how to find hope and strategy in the midst of collective pain. In 2025, the podcast turned its focus toward “Community Engagement and the Grassroots of Change,” a theme that explores the stories and strategies of community-driven movements throughout the year, offering listeners practical insights they can apply in their own efforts.
The Economics of Liberation
Anita’s work extends beyond individual and psychological transformation into the realm of economic empowerment. She is a passionate advocate for cooperative economics, a principle she believes is essential for the liberation and resilience of marginalized communities. “Cooperative economics,” she explains, “is the principle that communities can build resilience and wealth through collaboration rather than competition.”
This is not a new or radical idea, but a powerful, time-tested one rooted in traditions like the African concept of Ubuntu (“I am because we are”) and contemporary cooperative movements. It is a direct challenge to the hyper-individualistic, competitive models that have often left Black and other marginalized communities at a disadvantage. It is about pooling resources, sharing ownership, and building economic systems that serve the community from within.
Closely tied to this idea is the concept of collective sovereignty. As Anita defines it, this means “reclaiming decision-making power, both economically and socially, so that Black and marginalized communities can thrive on their own terms.” Her local work with organizations like the Ujamaa Collective, a cooperative of Africana women artisans, is a tangible expression of this philosophy. For her, economic justice is not a separate issue from personal empowerment; it is a critical and inseparable component of it.
The Architect at Work
A typical day for Anita is a masterclass in purposeful design, a blend of deep, solitary work and active, engaged facilitation. Some days are dedicated to the quiet craft of writing, developing insightful content for her Substack newsletter or scripting the next episode of the InflexionPoint Podcast. Other days are fully immersed in the dynamic energy of human connection, whether in one-on-one coaching sessions, preparing workshop materials, or facilitating live or virtual workshops.
Success, in her world, is measured in moments of breakthrough. “For me, success is not measured solely in revenue or reach—it is measured in lives changed,” Anita asserts. It is the client testimonial that speaks of a newfound courage, the community that finally opens a difficult dialogue across its divides, and the podcast listener who is moved from passive hearing to active doing. These are the metrics that matter.
Anita is also a sought-after speaker, invited to share her insights at events like the Graduate Women in Science Empower Conference at The Pennsylvania State University. She has been featured in the Entrepreneurs Forever newsletter and serves as an On-Call Facilitator at the prestigious Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). Yet, it is perhaps in the most challenging moments that her leadership is most clearly demonstrated. She recalls facilitating dialogues on racism where the room was thick with opposing and painful views.
“My response was to lean into active listening, create space for discomfort, and model resilience in the face of challenge,” Anita says. “True leadership is not about avoiding conflict but guiding people through it with integrity.”
The Unfolding Blueprint
The work of a movement builder is never done. Looking ahead, Anita is focused on expanding the reach and accessibility of her transformative tools. She plans to develop digital courses, deepen the global listenership of her podcast, and create new community-based workshops focused on her passions for cooperative economics and media literacy. She is also developing a series of companion workbooks and journals to help individuals and groups engage with her content on a deeper, more practical level.
To sustain this level of output and emotional engagement, she relies on a set of grounding personal practices. “I prioritize daily devotional time, conversations with my husband, and creative writing,” Anita shares. Travel is another vital source of renewal, a way to immerse herself in new cultures and be reminded of “the beauty of human diversity.” These rituals keep her centered, recharged, and ready for the demanding work she has been called to do.
Her final piece of advice is a distillation of her entire philosophy; a message delivered with the clarity and power that has become her signature. “Your transformation begins the moment you give yourself permission to step out of fear and into possibility,” Anita urges. “Don’t be afraid to challenge assumptions—your own and others’. Growth and empowerment lie on the other side of courage.”
It is a call to action that Anita leaves you with, a mantra that serves as both a personal and a collective compass: “Reimagining we begin with reimagining me.” In these six simple words lies the entire blueprint, the profound and life-altering truth that the most powerful movements in the world begin with the quiet, courageous revolution within.
Quotes
Also Read: The 10 Most Influential Black Women Leaders of 2025, Vol-2
