The inspire life TEAM

Carla Vanzant, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Inspire Life & Co-Founder & Co-CEO of My Neighbor, My Friend (formerly Vanzant Consulting), is a change agent and community builder. With a Master of Arts in Applied Sociology in Nonprofit Leadership and Management, she has passionately worked to impact her community and this world by helping for-profit, nonprofit, religious and educational organizations reach their full potential. Carla achieves this goal by providing consultation, coaching, and empowerment services to an array of nonprofit and community-based organizations nationally and internationally. 

In 2016, Carla co-founded Inspire Life, a nonprofit organization that embodies its mission to empower youth and families to pursue purpose, professions, and positive choices. Inspire Life is most known for providing high quality cultural, camp, and educational experiences to youth in the Central Jersey Shore region. In addition to camps, Inspire Life provides resources and support to women and families to empower and strengthen individuals and communities. 

In addition to her work in the nonprofit sector, Carla is also a diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice (DEIBJ) expert. Her work in this sphere centers around creating equitable spaces, combating diversity resistance, cultural competence & implicit bias education, and creating systems of accountability. Through her business, My Neighbor, My Friend (formerly Vanzant Consulting), she partners with organizations, businesses, communities of faith, and other entities by providing training to C-suite professionals, staff members, and boards helping them realize their DEIBJ goals and evoke sustainable change. She is a certified JEDI coach, and trains coaches worldwide on incorporating DEIBJ practices into their work.

Carla is also a strong advocate for education. Previously, she served as the Director of the Educational Opportunity Fund at Brookdale Community College, where she championed access to higher education for economically disadvantaged students. As an adjunct in sociology, Carla empowers students by teaching them about societal structures and encourages them to enact positive change. Additionally, Carla sits on several boards dedicated to empowering and supporting learners in their educational journeys.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Carla is dedicated to serving at Encounter Christ Global Fellowship, a ministry founded by her and her husband to foster transformation and connection. This burgeoning ministry has made tremendous impacts in their community already with much more on the horizon.  

Carla resides on the Jersey Shore with her husband, Semaj Sr., and two sons, Semaj Jr. and Seth. Her passions include family, traveling, whales, and seeing communities flourish.