Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch

The values she learned as a child were reinforced throughout her career in the U.S. military. After graduating from Hardin Simmons University, Consuelo entered the U.S. Army as an officer and served for two decades. During that time, she broke barriers and set records in the military where she became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field of the U.S. Army. When the opportunity to assume a command post arose, LTC Castillo Kickbusch shocked the military by deciding to retire. She chose to honor her mother's dying wish to get back to her roots and become a community leader. In 1996, Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch retired from the military and dedicated her time to operating Educational Achievement Services, Inc. and fulfilling her mission of preparing tomorrow's leaders today.

Today, Consuelo tells her story to people of all ages and creeds. She is doing exactly what she preaches…living a legacy. Because of her strong dedication to saving the youth of America living under similar circumstances as she did as a child, Consuelo continues to share her message with young people across the country and their parents. In addition, she reaches audiences in the corporate, professional, and multi-cultural markets. She has also worked with many non-profit organizations, community-service oriented companies, and programs.

In addition to being an advocate for education, Consuelo serves as a featured motivational speaker with corporations and government agencies to develop the leadership and peak performance of their employees. She firmly believes that businesses and corporations need strong leaders and a talented, diverse workforce in order to compete successfully in the global marketplace.

As part of her on-going quest to propel America’s next generation, Consuelo has authored a book for youth, titled Journey to the Future: A Roadmap for Success for Youth, where she shares her story and provides practical techniques for children to develop higher self-esteem and achieve their personal goals. She has also produced several audio CDs and videos which highlight her message of leadership and education. Currently, Consuelo is working on her second book. She has also started work on a new audio CD series about the importance of mentoring.

As the Founder of Educational Achievement Services, Inc., Consuelo created the Family Leadership Institute (FLI)—a multi-faceted educational program—which focuses on providing parents, with knowledge, tools and inspiration to help their children succeed in school and in life. The program, which has been acknowledged by the Department of Education and Office of English Language Acquisition, is instrumental in changing lives of students and their families. The Family Leadership Institute, “Success Begins at Home”, is currently in several states including: Texas, Nevada, Washington, Florida, and New Mexico and is making its way to many more.

As a counterpart to the FLI, Consuelo corralled a group of six young motivational speakers—whom she has mentored—to develop a student leadership program to help students directly. SLiCK, an acronym for Student Leadership Inspired by Consuelo Kickbusch, is a comprehensive program for students in high school and college. SLiCK has been successful in motivating students to finish not only highschool, but college as well.

Consuelo’s dedication to the youth of America and her amazing talent at motivational speaking has garnered her numerous awards and citations from educational institutions, government agencies, professional organizations, as well as the national media. Recently, she was awarded the Legacy Award from Working Mother’s Magazine, the Brillante Award for Entrepreneur Excellence from the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s, and the prestigious Hispanic Heritage Foundation Award for Leadership.

In the national media, Consuelo Kickbusch has been profiled on the Lifetime Network, National Public Radio, O Magazine, the syndicated television program “Hispanics Today,” Hispanic Business magazine's “100 Most Influential Hispanics in America,” Latina Style, Vanidades, Glamour and AARP. Features on Consuelo Kickbusch have also appeared in English and Spanish language newspapers across the country. In the book, "Mustang Sallies: Success Secrets of Women Who Refuse to Run with the Herd," Fawn Germer lists Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch among other women “who've got the brains, the guts, and the drive to change the world...”