FROM PHD CANDIDATE TO THOUGHT-LEADER
Anelia Carmila Sutton, born on December 25, 1968, in the Republic of Panama. She is the daughter of a Mestizo-Panamanian (Native American and Afro-Latina) mother and an Afro-Panamanian father. She is an American writer, activist, humanitarian and bestselling author who co-authored Performance 360 with Richard Branson.
After the tragic death of her sister, Marcia Magdalena Williams, an innocent bystander who was fatally gunned down by a stray bullet on her way home from a visit with her mother. "Despite the years since her murder in 1991, I still miss my sister dearly and will continue to feel the loss of presence for the rest of my life. I keep some of her home decorations in my home, I have some of her clothing hanging in my closet, and one of her favorite artworks she painted in high school has been with me to keep her memory alive."
Anelia set aside her personal and professional goals to help raise her sister’s three children to keep the family together. "There isn't one She built her career in business management spanning more than 15 years. She was responsible for the development of private and government organizations prior to starting her own company.
IN THE FINAL YEAR OF MY DOCTORAL PROGRAM -- 45 OUT OF 60 CREDITS -- TWO LIFE-CHANGING FAMILY TRAGEDIES STRUCK -- AND SPARKED A MOVEMENT.
Anelia is a military veteran of the United States Navy after serving for 11 years, a stellar career cut short by two family tragedies: Her daughter was railroaded with lies in court and her niece succumbed to kidney cancer. Anelia spent the following three years consumed with grief and deferred her dream to earn her PhD and to open her own restaurant, Taste of Panama Bar & Grill.
Anelia spent the next 10 years in search of answers that led me to legal research and founded the IRON Sharpens IRON Council organization for social justice advocacy, which she managed under the stage name Anne Smith to protect her daughter. "When I learned the truth about our rights I started sharing it on social media. Right away I created the name "Anne Smith". Today, "Anne Smith" is used as the secret identity for my comic book superhero, Sunshine Reign."
IRONSharpensIRONCouncil.com began as a small community on Facebook Group. Over time, the community developed into a significant destination for inspiring people to take peaceful action and a creative outlet for self-determined people. This launched Anelia's career as a motivational speaker and thought leader in social activist circles.
Anelia has been featured in over 240 media outlets and web portals including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, Huffington Post, and Forbes. She is a U.S. Navy veteran with an Honorable Discharge and received many military medals and awards.
HOW IT BEGAN VS HOW IT'S GOING NOW
After years of trial and error and targeted by many, many scammers who I call "the scalawags", I emerged with learning how to make the law work. As my foundational knowledge grew, so did my level of confidence and all I wanted to do was to help others who were interested in learning law to experience the same breakthroughs they needed without the years of stress I had endured. That's when started a free study group on Facebook and then launched this website three years later. None of it was planned and I’m still learning how to manage all of the moving pieces.
"I struggled for years and ended up getting scammed out of thousands of dollars from self-proclaimed legal "experts" and "gurus". I was easy prey for scammers and one scammer told me that I had to pay him “the stupid tax” as he ran off with my $5,000. Sadly, these unkind personalities use people as a crash test dummy for their unproven and untrustworthy legal theories only to abandon you or worse — get you arrested." "It was humiliating and a bit deflating and I felt robbed of my dignity. Worst -- I felt like giving up. But I held on and pushed past the pain because I really wanted to learn how the law works so I could learn how to help myself and the people I care about."
I discovered a better way to simplify legal research. And it all began with sharing my own journey on Facebook. "My superpower evolved into the ability to reduce 500 page documents down to 1 page blueprints. But I didn't begin studying law because I wanted to become a lawyer or paralegal. It was because I was the victim of a corrupt judge in a family court matter and a corrupt prosecutor in a criminal court case. After I witnessed the bald-faced lies and false evidence in open court, I knew something was terribly wrong with the case, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I found myself feeling completely disgusted with the legal system but I honestly didn’t know where to begin and I often felt lost and confused."
ANELIA'S HERO AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Ethos is the Greek word for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos. Mary Mcloud Bethune is a woman who I greatly admires because we share the same ethos or character and guiding principles and as well as the belief that all people have a shared duty and responsibility to be educators, humanitarians, civil rights activists to uplift humanity in our community and in society.
LOVE IS THE ANSWER, JOY IS THE BLESSING.
I believe in the power of love and the power of unity which is why I named the study group Iron Sharpens Iron Council -- a name that is aligned with my desire for cooperation and to surround myself with like-minded people who are kind and peaceful. By the way, the definition of a council is a group of equals moving together for the benefit of all -- a perfect concept because it clearly signifies that every voice matters and everyone has a seat at the table.
"GOOD PEOPLE CAN DO MORE GOOD WITH MORE."
ANELIA SUTTON