Emily Kipp-Wright, 48

Licensed Professional Counselor & Founder of Anchored & Beacon Behavioral

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My Nannie recently passed away at 89 years old, and she has been the “woman” in my life for all of my 48 years, so SHE is the most influential person in my life. She married her high school sweetheart and had three children. My Grandfather passed at age 40, and after that, my Nannie lost two of her three kids and two more husbands. She’s a fighter and a survivor! She hosted every holiday and was an amazing cook and baker. She sewed so well that she sewed homecoming dresses and mine and my Mom’s wedding dresses. My favorite quote is when I interviewed her for an assignment for my master’s degree on the aging brain. I asked her what it would be if she could only share one piece of wisdom with the world. She said, “If I would’ve known the lack of sex I was going to have later in life, I would’ve had a hell of a lot more when I was younger!”

I survived being a Motherless teen daughter. I was a well-rounded kid who played tennis, danced, art, theatre, piano, and twirled. I moved to Hollywood in my early 20s and pursued an acting career. I worked with Chris Evans, Milo Ventimiglia, & my favorite, Kiefer Sutherland, to name a few! I planned two professional BBQ cook-offs in Arizona to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer. I walked 60 miles THREE TIMES for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. I have been PTA President and Booster Club President. I was class president (Class of 1993) and planned four high school reunions. I wrote an appeal to Southwestern University to accept ASL as a language. I was told that I would not graduate and SU would never recognize ASL. A year later, they ACCEPTED IT, I graduated, and now they are looking to start teaching ASL on campus. I went back to school in my late 30s and completed my psychology and art degree and my master’s in counseling. I opened my practice during COVID and grew! I expanded and now have ten offices on the square, and most recently, I opened an outpatient facility for mental health. Oh, and I kept four children alive, and they are all adults except Emerson, who is almost 15 – yay! Hahaha!

If you have an idea, a dream, or something you want to do, YOU CAN DO IT! You truly can do anything if you put your mind to it. Surround yourself with like-minded people, sit with the mean girls, and show them how to be kind to others.

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