Speaker Profile

Dr. Shonta Manuel is the Founder and CEO of Quantum Consulting, a full-service project management, research design, and program evaluation firm. She is also a member of the Black Pilots of America – Baton Rouge Chapter Board of Directors, where she serves to create a platform for minority youth who are interested in all things aviation and aeronautical engineering. She has also served on research teams of animal research projects at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Hansen’s Disease Program with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Southern University Agriculture Research and Extension.

Dr. Manuel grew up in the foster care system in Louisiana and lived in seven (7) different homes from the age of 4 to 17. Upon graduating from high school, she enlisted in the U. S. Navy where she specialized in aircraft mechanics, went on to receive a bachelor's degree in agriculture science and minors in animal science and biology, a master’s degree in public health administration, and a PhD in public health with a concentration in community health. She understands, on many levels, what it is to navigate the adversities that youth face in foster care as well as the challenges they can endure in adulthood. Her research includes a multi-year evaluation of the effects of the Youth Peace Olympics violence prevention program and how it affected the beliefs in aggression for Baton Rouge youth and those enrolled U. S. Army National Guard Youth Challenge alternative school.