By Randy Capps
Natasia McLean had a simple answer when asked about her drive to volunteer and serve others through her nonprofit, the Say Y.E.S. Foundation.
“I will say the word that sums it up for me is legacy,” she said. “My grandparents are the reason why I founded Say Y.E.S. Foundation, and with them being from Harnett County, they were all very heavy around service, faith and strength and (I’m) just making sure I’m continuing their legacy,” she said. “I decided to start(the foundation) and it’s being able to do this and making sure we’re providing that village for the community. I grew up with a village. Not everyone has that aspect. So, our goal is to be the village for those that don’t have (one).”
It’s that spirit that has earned McLean the 2026 Johnston Now Honors Exemplary Volunteer Award.
She grew up in Harnett County, where she was the only Triton graduate in a family full of Harnett Central alumni.
She stayed close to home, picking up a degree in information technology from Campbell before earning a master’s degree in information science from North Carolina Central.
McLean launched the foundation in October of last year, and has hit the ground running.
“We’ve had a scholarship event,” she said. “We have a second one coming up. We have a youth program where we recently inducted 16 members, and we’ll be providing them monthly workshops that include financial literacy, college tours, just those various things.
“We were able to provide a holiday dinner, as well as Christmas gifts for a family of six that recently had a lot of medical health care issues and a family loss. (We’ve also been) able to do things like digital literacy, helping seniors with tech and knowing sometimes it’s not their favorite thing, but also making sure that we’re able to make sure they’re not getting scammed. Giving them resources, like virus protection and giving them that comfort.”
Considering her background, it’s not surprising that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) comes up quite a bit in the foundation’s work.
“We’re letting kids know that, hey, it’s OK to be interested in these things,” she said. “We are providing the resources for those camps so that, if you have that interest, let’s see how we can help you grow in that.
“I was a kid that had that interest, but I also had people backing me and making sure that I was exposed to that. (Now), we’re able to expose them to it, as well as making sure their parents are able to assist them with that as well.”
McLean balances the foundation with her everyday jobs, and the result is a hectic schedule.
“I’m still trying to make sure I’m growing with tech because technology is ever changing,” she said. “I just recently started a new position with consulting, but I also have my own consulting firm, and I work with other nonprofits and small businesses to kind of help them with their process improvement and their analytics, because we know how expensive that may become.
“So, that’s kind of my spare time, but I work for a larger consulting firm and working within health care, and it’s basically doing that at a larger scale.”
The time management aspect has become more important recently.
“Making sure that I have that balance,” she said. “Because if I’m not pouring into myself, I can’t pour into others. … Some organizations that I had to step back from as far as being on their boards, but still making sure that, ‘hey, I know you have this particular initiative going on. I would love to assist, but I can’t be at the leadership level because I can’t give my all if I’m trying to give bits and pieces to different places.’”
Despite the fact that it’s less than a year old, McLean has bigger plans for the Say Y.E.S. Foundation.
“What is actually on the vision board for the foundation is we’re looking to expand,” she said. “We’re currently in Johnson, Wake and Harnett. We have a couple people on our board for Wayne County. So we’re looking to expand to Wayne County, as well as Cumberland County.”
An organization with that sort of reach would likely need a physical location, and McLean is driving toward that as well.
“(We need a) physical location to where we’re able to host these workshops,” she said. “So we’re not worried about the funding of having to find places, and everything is a one-stop shop. If we have resources that are there, like food pantries, all that would be at that one location.”
The foundation may run on McLean’s drive and spirit, but she’s quick to credit her “village” for what she’s able to do.
“Yes, I definitely would love to thank my parents,” she said. “They have supported me, of course, throughout with the Say Y.E.S. Foundation because it’s in honor of their parents, but they have been there every step of the way leading up to this, and no matter what my idea is, they are there supporting the idea, uplifting me. I’m so very happy with them, as well as my boyfriend, because I know there are times that I keep him up with my ideas and my brainstorming. … It can be two in the morning and I’m scrolling on social media. ‘We can try that. Do you think we can build that for the kids?’ And he’s like, ‘I’ve been wanting to go to Lowe’s and get a new tool anyway. Let’s call my dad. Let’s call your dad and let’s go for it.’”
To learn more about McLean’s efforts through her nonprofit, visit sayyesfoundationinc.com.
