La Toya Forrester is a graduate of the University of Illinois
at Urbana - Champaign where she majored in Rhetoric Pre-Law and minored in Busines Law, Business Administration and Business
Management. She founded the Young Visionaries College Preparatory Institute in 2002. After enduring a traumatic stroke
that left her partially paralyzed, she could no longer work in corporate America, but could also not allow her body to
slip into a vegetative state. With a love for education and youth, she began tutoring one student in mathematics.
Within 2 months, she formed her first ACT preparation class of 4 young women who were junior's at Bolingbrook High School.
After a year of preparation and encouragement, all 4 of the young ladies increased their ACT scores, graduated from high
school and are presently in the colleges of their choice.
La Toya is not only the Founder and CEO of the Institute,
but she is also the facilitator. She is responsible for the coordination and facilitation of all the Institute programs
and events.
Outside of the Young Visionaries Institute, La Toya volunteers
her time with various organizations including: the NAACP, NAACP ACT-SO Program, Young Professionals Organization for the Urban
League, DuPage Township Democrats and various churches/ministries. She acts as the President of the Tatianna S. Cannon
Memorial Foundation Board of Directors and is very active in the lives of young people everywhere. Her personal motto
is "I am confident in my abilities to create change".
She is the godmother of 4 children and acts as a mentor
to many.
