Community Grapevines Inc was founded in 2023 as a 501(c)(3) organization that empowers vulnerable communities, champions family reunification, and provides housing, job readiness for any necessary essential support for the incarcerated citizens and citizens reentering society. Community Grapevines partners with other local non-profit and non-government organizations, local school districts, and senior citizen facilities.

Its founder Ms. Lakeeta (LaLa) Burnette develops impactful programs that foster growth and opportunity for her clientele. Through mentoring, re-entry initiatives, alternative education, and other vital services, the organization equips individuals with the resources and support needed to be able to thrive. In 2013 Ms. Burnette’s owned a Kid Salon and Spa, and she began providing food and clothing assistance to the homeless shelters and offered free hair grooming services to under their underprivileged clients for back-to-school haircuts and hairstyles for boys and girls, including providing care packages for the youth during the holidays.

Since 2013, Ms. Burnette’s passion for serving others has driven her to pursue specialized training in trauma-informed care, family systems, and community wellness. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and multiple professional certifications, including Child Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care and a Diploma in Mental Health, as well as certifications in child development, attachment and separation, grief and loss, substance-use impacts on families, sexual trauma awareness, trauma-related behaviors, parenting paradigms, effective communication strategies, crisis management, and navigating sensitive or intrusive situations.

In addition to her formal education and clinical-support training, Ms. Burnette has earned certifications in CPR & First Aid, HIPAA Compliance, Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Prevention, Grant Writing for Nonprofits, and Nonprofit Leadership—further strengthening her ability to build safe, compliant, and sustainable community programs.

Ms. Burnette previously partnered with Julia’s Heart, a Washington, DC–based nonprofit renowned for its senior wellness programming, where she supported therapeutic music-based services and enrichment programming for more than two years. Today, Community Grapevines continues this collaboration, providing holistic services for older adults across the region.

In 2018, Ms. Burnette became a certified foster parent and mentor through Mentor Maryland and the National Youth Advocate Program under the State of Maryland—deepening her commitment to supporting children and families navigating complex systems.

Her dedication to this work is rooted in lived experience. Having lost her mother to domestic violence at a young age and endured her father’s incarceration during childhood, she was raised by her grandmother and aunt—who instilled in her resilience, compassion, and purpose. These formative experiences continue to shape her leadership and fuel her advocacy for at-risk youth, returning citizens, and senior populations.

Today, Ms. Burnette leads with empathy, strategy, and accountability—bringing both professional expertise and personal understanding to every community she serves.