"i WEAR MY RED HEELS BECAUSE i AM HEALED!"

Latrina R. Graves McCarty is a dedicated educator with over 20 years of progressive experience blending classroom instruction and application to drive strategic initiatives that enhance student growth and development—an exceptional partner in elevating learning concepts and practices to steer widespread change through data-driven analysis. McCarty is skilled in strategic planning and implementation with an aptitude for improving students’ performance on high-stakes assessments.

McCarty decided to take her K-12 classroom experience and expand it by creating Destiny’s Elite Girls, Inc., a nonprofit. Established in 2022, DEGI is a scholarship, mentoring, and community service program designed to support young women during their first year of college. The program also inspires and encourages our next generation of women to remain focused and engaged as they transition from high school into adulthood with purpose. 

McCarty has also turned her hobby of writing into her passion. Holding an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism and speech communication from The University of Southern Mississippi and a graduate degree in education, with a concentration in English, McCarty not only composes literature but also brings her masterpieces to life through published works and stage productions. LGM Productions, LLC was established in 2019. She has toured the coastlines of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to promote her first book, “Olivia’s Journey.” 

McCarty has written three one-act stage plays: Just a Little Sunshine, Only a Shadow, and After the Rain. She also wrote, directed, and produced “Off the Court.” All stage plays are available on Amazon, and “Off the Court” can be viewed on LGM Productions’ YouTube Channel. 

McCarty served as service-learning coordinator for The University of Southern Mississippi. She coordinated academic service-learning and volunteerism by collaborating with over 82 nonprofit agencies in the Hattiesburg Pine Belt Area. She served as a student advisor to VISION (Volunteers Impacting Service through Individual Outreach Now). The organization's mission linked the USM and the community it served. During her USM tenure, McCarty received her teaching credentials and excitedly entered the classroom where she taught several subject areas, including photography, communication studies, middle school English, high school (I, III, and IV), collegiate-level English, speech and debate, drama, exploring careers, and served as yearbook and newspaper advisor. 

McCarty is pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is also the visionary of “Yet, She Persisted,” along with 30 co-authors. “Yet, She Persisted” is LGM Productions, LLC's first anthology book project. It is a profoundly moving and courageous collection of personal narratives that trace a journey through adversity, healing, and transformation. Each story embodies emotional honesty and resilience, offering readers a powerful reminder that strength often emerges from our most difficult experiences. 

McCarty was married to (Late) LaRue F. McCarty and has two children. She currently resides on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.