Sonia J. McTaggart-Anderson

Our Founder/CEO Sonia features both her son, Anthony, and her husband, Doug, alongside her own name, creating our organization’s name—Andson. Sonia is creative and generous, and she’s done nothing short of amazing things for the Las Vegas community. We got to discuss how she’s made it this far and how she continues to move forward: 

What did you picture yourself doing while you were still in school? Was it at all similar to the idea of Andson? 

“No, I went to college after Anthony was born so it was about survival. It was about having to make enough money to raise my son and pay my bills.  I had moved to New York when I was 17 from Guyana, South America and it was a struggle for me. I was a single mom who was working and going to school. Once I finished college, I moved to Florida where I returned to school to get my master’s degree. It took a lot of sacrifices and help from family for me to succeed, but it was worth it.

Does family hold a special place in life for you? 

“Yes, there are 37 of us in my extended family. We are incredibly attached.” 

What business did you run before you started Andson? 

“I owned, managed, and operated Christian Credit Counseling.”

Was there any specific moment or occurrence during your operating of Christian Credit Counseling that moved you towards the idea of opening Andson? 

“Oh yes. I had interviewed a girl in our Cincinnati office for a bookkeeping position and she had just graduated with honors from the University of Ohio. She was very bright, very qualified. I told her we were going to do a background check, and she admitted to me that she had filed bankruptcy. I was shocked that a recent college graduate with ample funds would have gotten herself into that position. She explained that she opened four or five credit card accounts during college and never paid more than the minimum balance. This the lack of basic financial knowledge amongst young people stayed with me when I sold my business. That’s why I started teaching financial literacy. I feel strongly about giving back.” 

What do you like to do outside of the office? 

“I love to travel, and to read. I’m not a big T.V. watcher but I do enjoy watching movies on the airplane. I absolutely love to cook for a lot of people. Having worked in the garment district, I used to sew quite often. I did a lot of hemming for my family and friends!”

If you could share any general advice right now what would it be? 

Every adult has the power to make a difference in a child’s life. Encourage and support our children as they are our future.