Story & Lesson Highlights with Catherine Latoya Grant-Alston

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Catherine Latoya Grant-Alston. Check out our conversation below.

Catherine Latoya, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
It’s integrity for me. Every time.

Here’s the thing, intelligence is great, energy can be contagious, but if I can’t trust you, if your words and actions don’t line up then we’re done before we even start.

I’ve learned that who someone chooses to be when nobody’s watching will always tell you more than any resume, vibe, or performance ever could. I’d rather be surrounded by people who move with intention and keep their word, even when it’s inconvenient, than folks who are just smart or just energetic but lack character.

Integrity is the foundation. It’s how you build real relationships, how you keep your name meaningful, and how you sleep at night knowing you’re always doing the right thing. I will always choose people who mean what they say and show up like they said they would.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Dr. Catherine Latoya Grant-Alston, also known as The Queen Treasurer. I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of ART Financial Solutions, where we help businesses and organizations build strong financial foundations and increase their revenue through strategy and automation. Through our signature program, The Revenue VAULT, we help you build a financial system that’s sustainable, scalable, and rooted in purpose.

I’m also the host of the Claim Your Throne Conference, a transformational experience for both men and women who are ready to lead boldly in business, walk in in their purpose, and leave a legacy. It’s a space where we talk about financial growth, mindset shifts, and what it really means to be the CEO.

Outside the boardroom, I’m passionate about community. Through our lifestyle brand Kingdom Treasures, we’re taking financial literacy beyond the spreadsheets. We offer legacy-building tools, financial education, and a special space for kids called Kingdom Treasures Kids (KT Kids). At KT Kids we use our customized financial kits to make financial literacy fun and engaging for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

At the core of everything we do is heart. We lead with it, we build with it, and we serve from it because our mission isn’t just about money. It’s about healing. It’s about generational legacy. It’s about leaving trust funds, not trauma.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I wasn’t worthy of more. Growing up with a mother battling drug addiction, I internalized what society said about girls like me… that I’d either be dead, in jail, or on drugs. When that’s the message the world hands you, over and over, it’s hard not to believe it.

I learned early how to survive. I thought being strong meant never crying, never needing help, and definitely never dreaming too big. Because people like me, we weren’t supposed to “make it.” We were supposed to settle. Stay small. Just survive.

But what I know now is this, your beginning doesn’t define your becoming. Perseverance, faith, and an abundance mindset can shift your entire life. I had to unlearn the lies and rewrite my own story. When I did, doors opened. Rooms shifted. Levels I never imagined became reachable. Now, I don’t carry shame, I carry purpose. That purpose has allowed me to serve over 4,000 people annually through hosting and speaking at national conferences, using my story to show others what’s possible when you refuse to let your past define your future.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain in 2023 when I finally shared one of the hardest chapters of my life, our bankruptcy. My husband and I were embarrassed. Imagine working in the financial industry since the age of 16, climbing the corporate ladder, becoming an executive… and still having to file bankruptcy because medical bills were drowning us. It felt like failure, but I realized it was actually our power.

Life can flip on you even when you’re doing everything right. Before I was 35, I had fallen down the stairs and lost my memory, undergone heart surgery, and had a hysterectomy. This doesn’t include the trials from my youth. It was one hit after another. But every time, God pulled me through. One day, I realized this wasn’t just pain, It was preparation.

The very thing I was ashamed of, became the thing that allowed me to connect, to empower, and to lead with authenticity. I started speaking from that place. We rebuilt financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Today, our portfolio is back over a million dollars, and we’re not just surviving, we’ve created trust funds for our children. We are building a legacy with intention. I found peace in knowing that pain didn’t break me, it birthed my purpose.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies the financial industry tells itself is that you have to work hard to earn money. The truth is, making money isn’t just about hustle, it’s about healing. There are two things you really need to earn and sustain wealth: a money mindset and an understanding of money trauma. Most people don’t even realize they’re carrying financial wounds that affect the way they show up in business and in life. It doesn’t matter if you’re making $40K or $400 million. Money trauma doesn’t care about your income bracket. It shows up in how you price your services, how you spend, how you save, how you sabotage.

That’s why unlearning and relearning money habits is just as important as your strategy. When you adopt a healthy money mindset, you begin to understand that money is energy. It flows more freely when your mind is clear, your decisions are aligned, and you’re no longer operating from fear or survival. But no one talks about this. That silence is the missing piece in almost every financial conversation.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
In 2024, I made one of the hardest and most important decisions of my career. I left my corporate executive position to pursue entrepreneurship full time. On the operating table having heart surgery, I remember asking God if I had truly made an impact in this world? My prayer was that if I hadn’t, please give me the opportunity to do so. That moment changed everything for me. I knew I had to keep my promise.

Walking away from a secure, high-level position was terrifying, but it has been the most rewarding step I’ve ever taken. Now I wake up excited, knowing that the work I do helps businesses grow, gain clarity, and step into abundance. My impact has allowed me to help small businesses reach over $1 million in revenue within 18 months by applying the same strategic money insights I used inside corporate entities. Watching clients double their income, make confident decisions, and create jobs for others because of the strategy and support I provide, brings me so much joy.

I get excited knowing that I’m walking in purpose, creating impact, and doing the work I was truly put on this earth to do

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Image Credits
Nathan Pearcy
Ace Eversley

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