Our Story
For founder Akena Allen, the challenges surrounding foster care are personal. Her perspective is shaped not only by professional experience in program development and social impact, but by lived experience and a family history touched by foster care and adoption.
That perspective shapes Mathews Sutherland's belief that every young person deserves more than temporary intervention. They deserve preparation, opportunity, support, and the tools to build a future—especially neurodivergent youth who need additional strategies for education, employment, communication, and independent living.
Mathews Sutherland is not a general coaching practice. We are a mission-driven social enterprise built to design programs, training, and partnerships that help youth—and the systems around them—prepare for what comes next.
"We help young people and the adults around them replace confusion with clarity, isolation with partnership, and uncertainty with structured preparation for adulthood."
Why Urban Foster Care?
Urban foster-care systems operate within complex educational, workforce, housing, transportation, and social-service environments. For neurodivergent youth preparing to enter adulthood, navigating those systems can require an additional level of preparation and support.
- ✓High caseloads and complex agency coordination
- ✓School transitions and educational disruption
- ✓Resource disparities across neighborhoods
- ✓Employment and transportation barriers
- ✓Gaps in transition-to-adulthood planning
Mathews Sutherland has deliberately chosen this population as an area of focus—because the intersection of foster care, neurodiversity, and urban transition planning is where structured support can make the greatest difference.
Business With a Social Mission
Mathews Sutherland creates measurable social impact while operating a scalable professional services and program-development business. Mission and revenue are not mutually exclusive.
Professional Services
Organizations contract Mathews Sutherland for consulting, training, workshops, and program development.
Community Partnerships
Collaboration with organizations serving foster youth, educators, and neurodivergent adolescents.
Sponsored Initiatives
Businesses and partners can sponsor programming, resources, career-development opportunities, and wellness initiatives.
Products & Campaigns
Future merchandise, campaigns, and creative projects can raise awareness and support targeted initiatives—with clear communication about where support is directed.
Our Values
Focus
We specialize at the intersection of neurodiversity, foster care, urban communities, and transition to adulthood—not every social issue.
Preparation
We equip youth with practical tools for education, employment, communication, self-advocacy, and independent living.
Partnership
Strong outcomes require caregivers, educators, agencies, and communities working together with shared understanding.
Dignity
We portray foster youth as capable young people preparing for opportunity—not as problems to be fixed.
Scalable Impact
We design programs and frameworks that organizations can implement, repeat, and expand.
Integrity
We do not overpromise outcomes, invent credentials, or present our work as clinical treatment.