We’re looking forward to introducing you to Ana Baez. Check out our conversation below.
Ana , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity is more important to me because this is where your character is revealed. Doing the right thing even when no one sees me or even if no one else does, is true integrity.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Ana Baez, I am a wife, a mother of three incredible boys ages 23, 17, and 8, a minister of Jesus Christ, and a two-time award-winning author. I am also the founder of The Baez Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving women and young girls who have been impacted by life-changing traumas.
My work is deeply personal. I am not just leading an organization. I’m pouring out the very hope that carried me through some of the darkest seasons of my life. I became a mother at 16. I dropped out of high school and fought through multiple failed attempts before finally earning my GED. I survived domestic violence. I grew up in a home marked by substance abuse and the absence of a father figure. I navigated wounds that led to cycles of promiscuity, and I am living proof that what tries to break you can be the very thing God uses to build you.
What makes The Baez Foundation unique is that we don’t serve from theory, but from testimony. Our programs, our compassion, our spiritual grounding, and our approach are all shaped by lived experience. Women don’t just meet staff; they meet someone who understands their journey, honors their pain, and believes fiercely in their future.
Right now, we are expanding our impact by developing group counseling sessions for women healing from trauma, creating spaces where faith, clinical support, and community care meet.
Everything I do is rooted in resilience, guided by faith, and dedicated to helping women rise into the version of themselves they never thought they could become.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I carried a quiet belief that I wasn’t enough. Not enough to be loved in a stable way, not enough to be protected, not enough to rise above the circumstances I was born into. Growing up in a home shaped by substance abuse, without a father figure, and surrounded by instability, I often felt invisible and unworthy. I believed my voice didn’t matter and that my future would look like more of the same pain I was raised in.
I don’t carry that belief anymore.
Through every hardship – becoming a mother at 16, dropping out of school, surviving domestic violence, fighting through shame, and rebuilding my life piece by piece — I discovered that those childhood beliefs were never the truth. God showed me who I really am: worthy, chosen, capable, and deeply loved. I learned that my past didn’t disqualify me; it equipped me.
Today, I stand confident in the truth that I am not a product of what tried to break me. I am a reflection of God’s grace, strength, and redemption. And now, through The Baez Foundation, I help other women rewrite those same lies they’ve believed about themselves, because healing begins when we finally see ourselves the way God sees us.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain the moment I realized that silence was keeping me stuck in the very places God had already delivered me from. For years, I carried my story like a secret, becoming a mother at sixteen, dropping out of high school, surviving domestic violence, growing up in a home shaped by substance abuse with no father figure, battling cycles of shame and promiscuity. I thought that if I kept it all tucked away, I could outrun the hurt.
But pain doesn’t shrink in the dark — it grows.
Everything shifted when I finally allowed myself to speak honestly about what I’d lived through. It wasn’t a single dramatic moment; it was a gradual awakening. It happened when other women began quietly sharing their own struggles with me, and I realized that my transparency brought them comfort. It happened when God kept nudging me, reminding me that my story wasn’t meant to end with survival — it was meant to spark transformation.
I truly stepped into my power when I understood that what once made me feel disqualified was the very thing God was going to use to qualify me to help others. My pain became my power the day I stopped seeing it as something to hide and started seeing it as a roadmap for women who feel lost, broken, or forgotten.
That shift is what birthed The Baez Foundation. My story became my assignment. My wounds became my wisdom. And today, every program, every workshop, every circle of women we serve is fueled by the belief that if God can redeem my past, He can redeem anyone’s.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I’m actually glad this question was asked, because there’s a common assumption that who we see on social media isn’t who that person really is. And while that may be true for some, it’s not true for me. The public version of me is the real me.
What I share online — the faith, the encouragement, the vulnerability, the scars, the growth, all of it comes from a very real place. I’ve lived through enough pain, setbacks, and miracles to know that pretending doesn’t help anyone heal. I believe transparency is crucial for God to get the glory out of my life. If I hide what He brought me through, then I hide the evidence of His power.
Even as a leader, I don’t feel the need to present a perfect version of myself. I’m comfortable showing my weaknesses, my lessons, and the moments I’m still working through. Leadership, to me, isn’t about appearing flawless; it’s about being honest, grounded, and willing to let God use every part of your story, even the parts you once wished no one would ever see.
So yes, what you see publicly is exactly who I am privately: a woman who’s been through a lot, a woman who’s still growing, and a woman who refuses to hide the journey God is using to help others find hope.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Absolutely. I’ve lived most of my life giving my very best long before anyone ever knew my name or my story. For many years, I served, prayed, helped, built, encouraged, and showed up in ways that no one ever saw but God. And honestly, that was enough for me.
Everything I do is done with excellence because it is ultimately for the Lord. My standard isn’t set by applause, recognition, or public validation. It’s shaped by my desire to honor God with my life. I’m not here to please man; I’m here to please God. The work I do, the women I serve, the programs I create, the way I lead — none of it is for show. I don’t do it to be seen. I do it because I love God, and because I know firsthand what His power can do in a broken life.
Coming from where I come from, I learned early that the most meaningful work is often done quietly, in the secret place, where only God keeps the record.
So yes, I can give my best with no praise at all, because the reward I’m after doesn’t come from people. The reward I value comes from Heaven. And that assurance alone is enough to keep me serving with passion, excellence, and purpose every single day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thebaezfoundation.com
- Instagram: @iamapprovedbygod_official and @thebaezfoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-baez
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ana.rivera.351
- Other: https://www.anabaezimpacts.com
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