Vanessa McClure shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Vanessa, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m realizing I’m being called to the forefront in ways I used to shy away from. For a long time, I was comfortable in the background, making things happen quietly, behind the scenes. But God has been revealing strengths in me that I didn’t fully recognize or trust before.
Through my work with Life After Incarceration, I’ve found myself stepping into roles that stretch me, including co-teaching a trauma-focused program. Being in front of people, speaking openly, and sharing pieces of my own journey hasn’t always felt comfortable, but it’s been necessary.
What once felt intimidating is now becoming purposeful. I’m learning that my voice, my experiences, and my willingness to be seen are not just for me, they’re tools God is using to help others find their way toward healing. And in answering that call, I’m healing too.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Vanessa McClure, born and raised in Texas, raised by a teenage mother and a patchwork of people who were both family and not by blood, but by love. I am a wife to Anthony McClure and a proud mother to Elijah and Serenity, my heartbeats and greatest blessings.
I’m the founder of The Blueprint Impact, a project management and consulting business where I help bring people’s visions to life. From strategy to execution, I walk alongside clients to take their ideas from paper to purpose.
I’ve currently been working with Katrina Harris, founder of Life After Incarceration and Lady K’s Survivors Initiative as a Project Manager/Operations. Together, we’re doing transformative work inside prison walls through her SURVIVE Curriculum. We are helping women reframe their thinking, reminding them they are no longer victims, but victors. We are also building partnerships within the TDCJ system to ensure these women are seen, equipped, and empowered. We have planned and successfully accomplished 9 major events on top of teaching countless classes for her SURVIVE program in 2025 alone. Currently, there are 2-3 un-named projects we are working on getting approved for the benefit of the women who are incarcerated long-term and those who are preparing for release.
For over two years now, I’ve also been working with Derrick Harris, owner of Smokey D’z Barbecue in Duncanville, Texas, helping lead and support operations, strategy, and long-term business growth on the backend.
My husband Anthony and I often collaborate across our businesses and within our community, using our gifts to bring about change in schools, churches, and beyond. At the core of it all, my heart is to serve. Wherever God calls us, we want to go, and fulfill the purpose He’s placed over our lives.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What breaks bonds is a lack of trust and communication. When we don’t take the time to truly communicate with those we love or value, misunderstandings begin to grow, and those misunderstandings can create problems that never should have existed. What restores bonds is intentional effort, choosing to communicate, even when it’s uncomfortable, and being willing to show up for the relationships that matter most.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
A defining wound in my life has been the absence of my mother in the way I longed for growing up. I watched other daughters experience the nurturing, consistent presence of their mothers, and I deeply felt the void of not having that. While God was faithful to place women in my life who poured into me, family and not family, I still carried the wound of feeling rejected and abandoned by my mother at different points in life.
As I grew older, certain truths were revealed to me. I learned that my mother was carrying her own unhealed wounds, pain she has never fully processed. That changed everything. I began to realize that she wasn’t withholding love on purpose; she simply didn’t have the tools, or the experience, to give what she never received herself.
What started in my 20’s and now me being in my 30s, I have began to face the rejection and abandonment I didn’t even realize had shaped me. Through prayer, honest conversations, therapy, and the love of two particular women (Elder Christie Dobbins & Katrina Harris) whom God sent into my life in two different seasons who continuously have shown me love in a new light in various seasons I have had, healing has began. God has softened my heart and opened my eyes, not just to what I lacked, but to the generational pain that has needed to be broken.
Now, I’ve accepted that the very thing I longed for from my mother, she may never be able to give me. But God has given me the grace and strength to give her what she needs when she needs it. And I’ve come to embrace that what I need is faithfully given to me through the people who love me deeply. Because of that, I can now become the person, and the well, that my mother can draw from when she needs strength.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
An important truth that very few people seem to agree with me on is that fairness should never be conditional. I believe in standing for what’s right, no matter who it involves. You could be my mother, my sister, or my favorite person in the world, but if you’re wrong and someone else has been hurt by your actions, I’ll speak up for the one who’s been wronged.
I’m big on clarity and accountability. I often find myself helping people see situations from another perspective, especially from the shoes of the person who was hurt. Not to attack, but to bring awareness and hopefully growth. My Auntie once told me I should’ve been a lawyer, because when I believe in something, I’ll fight for it, with everything in me.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What light inside you have you been dimming?
The light I’ve been dimming is the power of my voice. While I do speak up, it’s often only around those I trust, people I know will hear me without judgment. But in moments when I feel God nudging me to speak truth or encouragement to others outside that safe space, I tend to hold back.
It’s not that I don’t know my voice has power, I do. But I often struggle with whether or not my voice is important enough to be heard. That internal wrestle has kept me quiet when I know I was meant to speak. It’s not that the light isn’t there, it’s that I’ve been guarding it, instead of letting it shine freely the way God intended.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theblueprintimpact.com
- Instagram: @theblueprintimpact
- Facebook: Vanessa M McClure
Image Credits
Ron Sanders Photographer
Jackson Visuals
