Rising Stars: Meet Lakredi Ti Alston of Riverdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lakredi Ti Alston.

Lakredi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When my husband and I had our second child it was a boy. We were excited because we had our bubbly, beautiful and curious little girl. We finally had our son. We had so many plans for him. We were sure that having an older sister would be very beneficial for him. She would teach him so much and he would grow up to protect her and together they would get in trouble together. We just knew that was how it would turn out. But when my son was almost two, I started noticing subtle changes. Then there were so many changes at once. Then suddenly a lot of regression. I was confused at first. My husband was in denial. Unfortunately, because we couldn’t get on the same page we lost some ground with our oldest son. When I was pregnant with our second son he was finally diagnosed with autism. During that time, I kept hearing that when you have one son with autism the chances of having a second son with autism were high. This scared me daily. The first six months of my youngest son’s life seemed typical. He seemed to be hitting all of his milestones. Then one day, suddenly I saw the light go out of his eyes. After that, everything changed and slowed down. This time I was determined to make sure that we did everything we needed to help my son. He was 6 mos old when I saw the change.
Life was not what I expected it to be and now a mother of two special needs children, I was exhausted and a little scared. My boys needed a lot of services, and we didn’t know how to navigate it all. But what I was sure of was that I needed to create an environment where my children could be themselves. A space where they could learn and grow at their own pace, without judgment. I knew what I wanted to do but not how to go about it. After years of trying and starting a couple of LLC’s that didn’t go far I was determined to bring my vision to life.
Fast forward to the beginning of 2025, I decided to do whatever it took to bring my vision alive. I gave up other projects and focused solely on my vision. Finally in June I found my space and had my open house in August and ZAC LLC took on form.
ZAC, The Zokha Autism Center is a developmental learning center that provides ABA Services, Respite Care, Education, Parent Advocacy, Parent Mentorship and other resources. It’s important to me for the space to be small and intimate allowing each child

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Setting things up has been very challenging. In fact, just last year November, we acquired a building. I was so excited and scared and when it fell through, I was devastated, I gave up and decided to do something else. Went through with a totally different plan, one that would change everything, including the path I was supposed to take. When that plan fell through I felt like a failure just for a brief moment. Then, I was reminded of my purpose by both my daughter and my husband. That’s when I put my head down and went to work. My husband and daughter, my sisters Kalvai, Kiin and Tamika and my friends Ladarena and Cordie were my anchors and support, encouraging me all the way. I found another space and came close to taking that one and that fell through. But this time I trusted God, I leaned all the way in and listened to the quiet words spoken to my heart.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve always worked with children. It has been my passion. Right out of college I started working for a Developmental Center in upstate New York. My passion for working with special needs children grew from there. I started out as an assistant teacher. Later I moved to PA and became an Intervention Support Specialist and then a Program Coordinator working with individuals with autism. Later after moving to GA, I became a teacher and then the Director of the daycare. While I enjoyed what I was doing, I knew it wasn’t enough. I needed to make an impact, a direct impact. My new focus became providing a stable, loving and learning environment for our autism community. I became a parent advocate and a resource for parents all over Atlanta.

I’m known for providing support, advocacy and resources to parent.

I am most proud of my center, having completed what I started and following my vision.

I believe that what sets me apart from others is that I’m not just an entrepreneur. I am an autism parent. I am a mother who fought long and loud for her boys and other children on the spectrum. I accompanied parents to IEP and speech appointments, This journey is not just about right now, but for every moment to come, every family needing support and every child needing a voice. ZAC is dedicated to making our autism community an accepted, supported and loved one.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love Chat GPT. It has become my personal assistant. Multiple times a day I can say “hey Chat, how do I” and I get an immediate response. It’s a great resource. I love Linked In, because it helps me connect to the people and services that help my business grow.
The books that were referred to me by one of my friends, Think and Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich teaches that success begins internally—through desire, belief, clarity, and persistence. When the mind is trained and focused, and actions are aligned with purpose, wealth and achievement become inevitable
, Rich Man Poor Man written by Irwin Shaw. Rich Man, Poor Man is ultimately about family, identity, and the very different ways people try to build a good life. It shows that wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness, and struggle doesn’t erase dignity. Each sibling’s journey reflects a different truth about success and what it means to truly “win” in life., and Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt with the premise that good strategy is not about slogans, goals, or ambition—it is about diagnosing the real challenge, choosing a clear guiding approach, and aligning actions to solve that challenge. Most organizations fail not because they lack intelligence but because they confuse goals with strategy.
I love listening to Napoleon Hill to help get my day started.
The best resources for me are my friends who have already been where I’m going. My friends like Dr Maxine Cain of Stem Atlanta Women and Cordie Moore of Women In Finance

Pricing:

• $350 Week of Respite Care
• $105 One day of Respite Care
• $175 Weekend Respite Only

Contact Info:

• Website: www,zac-llc,org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamzacllc
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ZACLLC
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thezacinc?
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lakredi