I'm Alicia Starnes — and I build what other people only dream about.

It started in 2011.

I took a job as an office manager for a Level III residential program for adolescents. I thought it was just a job. It turned out to be a master class.

In that one role, I learned how to start a business. How to achieve and maintain accreditation. How to launch a nonprofit from scratch. How to write proposals that actually got funded. How to run an office that didn't fall apart under pressure.

That experience launched a career. I went on to serve as a qualified professional in a group home, an administrative assistant, an executive assistant, and an office manager to CEOs, principals, and executive directors. Every role taught me something. Every leader I served showed me what it really takes to build something that lasts.

But here's the moment I knew this was my calling.

I left the mental health field and my phone didn't stop ringing. The people I had worked with were still calling. Not to chat, but to ask if I could help them run their facilities. They didn't want anyone else. They wanted me.

Then I started helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their businesses, just because I could. I wasn't charging. I wasn't trying to build anything. I was just doing what came naturally. Until one of them looked at me and said, "I'd pay you for this."

That was the moment everything clicked.

ADStarnes Consulting wasn't built from a business plan. It was built from a track record — and from the quiet truth that what came easily to me was exactly what other people desperately needed.

The founders who win aren't the ones with the most money or the best connections. They're the ones with the right systems, the right strategy, and the right person in their corner.

That's where I come in.

I help founders:

• Open and accredit group homes that pass inspection and serve their communities with excellence
• Launch businesses with the legal, financial, and operational foundation to actually scale
• Build nonprofits that get funded, stay compliant, and create lasting impact

15 years of high-level administrative and operational expertise across regulated, mission-driven environments.

Residential & Behavioral Health Experience

Direct experience inside two Level III residential facilities, serving as Executive Assistant to two CEOs. I've operated at the side of the people making the highest-stakes decisions in this industry — and I've kept their organizations running while they did.

Education Sector Experience

Seven years in the school system as Administrative Assistant to Principals and the Executive Director of Student Supports. I understand how complex, multi-stakeholder organizations actually function — and what it takes to keep them moving.

Leadership & Ministry Experience

Currently pastoring a church I've led for two years, during which the congregation has experienced substantial growth. I don't just consult on building mission-driven organizations — I lead one. I know firsthand what it takes to cast vision, build systems, develop leaders, and grow something from where it is to where it's called to be.

This isn't theory pulled from a textbook. It's lived expertise built inside the rooms where real organizations get accredited, funded, and operationally sound.