Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Anna Stoker.
Hi Lee Anna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Lee Anna Stoker’s journey has been defined by a search for meaning and a relentless passion for freedom. From her early days as a student exploring alternative culture groups to her current role as a globally recognized community leader, Lee Anna has dedicated her life to loving people unconditionally and nurturing them toward maturity and personal wellbeing.
Her foundation in grassroots organizing began at Evergreen State College, where she earned a degree in Revolution. Her early career saw her “joining the revolution” during the Zapatista uprising in Mexico, organizing labor rights for farm workers with the AFL-CIO in California, and developing intermediate technologies for Incan farmers in the Andes Mountains of Peru. These diverse international and local experiences shaped her unique perspective on community development and the complexities of human suffering.
Upon returning to the United States, Lee Anna landed at the fringes of society, living homeless among drug users and commercial sex workers in New Orleans; an experience that gave her an intimate understanding of life on the edge. This lived experience of chaos became the fuel for her life’s work.
In the late 1990s, Lee Anna moved to her home state of North Carolina and founded First Fruit Ministries in Wilmington with her husband, Rick. What began as a humble effort to provide food and supplies to homeless neighbors living in the street evolved into a comprehensive organization offering a “safe landing” for those traumatized by homelessness and human trafficking.
For almost thirty years, Lee Anna has been a pillar of the Cape Fear region’s humanitarian efforts. She was a founding member of the Executive Committee for the region’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness and served as chairperson for the local consortium of homeless service providers. In 2009, she expanded her vision by founding Open Vision International to cultivate just, sustainable communities, recently opening a humanitarian aid center for Holocaust survivors in Tel Aviv.
Recognized in 2015 with the Cape Fear Council of Governments’ Leadership Award, Lee Anna continues to innovate. In 2020, she launched C.A.S.T. (Collaborative Against Sex Trafficking) to create a robust response network on the Carolina Coast. Today, Lee Anna is a sought-after speaker and innovator who empowers communities to tame their chaos by designing strategies rooted in personal growth, systemic solutions, and unconditional love.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been anything but smooth; it has been a journey of deep commitment and constant adaptation. Each step of growth was pioneered by Lee Anna through determination alone, figuring out how to launch a non-profit with no resources, training, or support. Devising innovative solutions to the present problems of those living in the woods or suffering human trafficking in her community demanded radical faith and perseverance. The greatest challenge has been maintaining consistent funding to keep our doors open through 27 years of shifting economic climates and community crises. When Rick and Lee Anna began feeding runaway children in the late 1990’s, it was a humble grassroots effort. They made soup and sandwiches by hand and drove into the night to reach out and serve everyone they could find living in the darkness. By the time they married and invited their first resident into their home in 2000, they were laying a foundation built more on compassion than capital.
As they grew, each milestone brought a new level of struggle. Doubling their capacity in 2005 required a leap of faith in their property and their neighbors. Later, when Hurricane Florence devastated the region in 2018, Rick and Lee Anna didn’t just have to rebuild our own Outreach Center; they took on the responsibility of rehousing over 300 displaced households. Just two years later, they had to navigate the global pandemic while opening the 5.11 House to provide a safe haven for survivors of human trafficking.
Overcoming these seasons of change has meant evolving from a simple street outreach into a multi-million dollar ‘network of hope.’ It has required Lee Anna to be as resilient as the people she serves; taming chaos, embracing challenges, and ensuring that no matter how the economy shifted, her commitment to meeting people where they are remained unshakable.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What I Do & My Specializations
I am a community development professional with almost thirty years of experience dedicated to creating sustainable, grassroots solutions for vulnerable populations. As the Founder and Executive Director of First Fruit Ministries and the Collaborative Against Sex Trafficking (C.A.S.T.), my work focuses on the intersection of healing, housing, and restoration. I specialize in designing comprehensive systems that address homelessness and human trafficking, moving beyond temporary relief to provide long-term empowerment. My expertise is rooted in a diverse background of community organizing, ranging from labor rights advocacy with the AFL-CIO to international NGO work in Peru and Mexico.
What I Am Known For
In the Wilmington and Raleigh areas, I am known as a visionary leader who bridges the gap between spiritual mission and practical community action. Since co-founding First Fruit Ministries in 1998, I have become a recognized advocate for the dignity of those living on the margins. I am often sought out for my ability to facilitate artful conversations that break down silos between different community groups.
What I Am Most Proud Of
I am most proud of the longevity and depth of the impact I’ve created through First Fruit Ministries. Seeing an organization grow from a small grassroots effort into a multi-million dollar community resource that manages significant services for those in the most need is deeply rewarding. However, on a personal level, I am most proud of the culture of unconditional love and authentic community we have built and sustained as our organization has grown. Whether it’s through our outreach programs or our supportive housing initiatives, I take great pride in seeing individuals who were once overlooked be nurtured into lives of purpose, leadership, and stability.
What Sets Me Apart
What truly sets me apart is that my authority wasn’t forged in a classroom or a boardroom, but through an unconventional seven-year journey on the open road searching for meaning. Having never held a proper job before founding a major ministry, I spent those years living among the very populations I now serve; from the Zapatista uprising in Mexico to the underworld of sex workers in New Orleans.
This path redefined my understanding of impact; while others follow a traditional “runged ladder,” my experience taught me that real change must be curated from within a community, not delivered to it. This rare synthesis of strategic insight and raw, lived experience allows me to value miles traveled over titles held. It empowers me to see elegant solutions that others might miss, proving that the most effective leadership is lived, not just taught.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The characteristic most important to my success is a fearless pursuit of systemic solutions forged through lived experience and a belief in love and kindness.
Unlike traditional leaders who follow a “runged ladder” of education and corporate titles, my authority was developed during an unconventional seven-year journey on the open road where I lived among the very populations I now serve. This unconventional path taught me that true leadership is lived, not just taught, and it gave me the raw, first-hand perspective needed to bridge the gap between high-level policy and the reality of life on the fringes.
This unique synthesis of strategic insight and hard-won wisdom allows me to reject the status quo, identify and develop “elegant solutions”, and curate connection.
Ultimately, my success is rooted in the belief that the most complex social issues can be solved when we commit to nurturing healthy, mature people through unconditional love; a lesson I could only have learned from the miles I’ve traveled.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.firstfruitministries.org/
- Instagram: @firstfruitministries
- Facebook: First Fruit Ministries
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-anna-stoker/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@firstfruitministries5059
