AARP Hearing Center
Tennessee Life Coach Shares Her Business Journey
Anna Parker Walker.
In honor of Black Business Month, AARP Tennessee sat down with CEO and founder of The Total You Coaching and Consulting, Anna Parker Walker.
Walker is a certified life coach who has dedicated over 25 years to empowering women through the[NR1] [NR2] Total You. Before becoming a life coach, she worked as an image consultant. Her work has impacted women from all walks of life.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
Today, she continues to spearhead The Total You, as well as serving as president for the International Coaching Federation’s Tennessee chapter, in addition to volunteering with AARP.
Walker’s career, however, had an unassuming beginning. “I started out in underwriting for an insurance company,” she says. “After a while, I was like ‘this isn’t me.’”
That realization led Walker to look inward and discover what she truly wanted to do with her life. This self-reflection would be the catalyst for her career as a coach.
“What inspired me to start this work was a personal quest to dig deeper into who I am as a person,” she says. “The quest for knowledge… was just in my heart – and to help people. I want to help women, especially.”
In 1997, Walker founded The Total You. The company began with image consulting. Walker’s work ranged from women in corporate settings, to the women at Thistle Farms who are survivors of trafficking and addiction.
Walker felt called to help these women become more confident in themselves. Over time, she realized there was more to this than the outside appearance. “I want to be a bridge between who people are and who they are becoming,” she says. “Until you find that level of alignment… you’ll always show up like you’re just dressed up, and not in line.”
From that point on, the priority of her work changed. Her focus became “not looking so much so much to the outer person but to the inner person and finding those areas where they’re unclear,” she says. Walker, however, needed help to start this new phase of The Total You.
That’s where AARP came in. In 2015, a friend of Walker’s encouraged her to join the organization. As she explored the volunteering opportunities AARP offered, she encountered a program called Life Reimagined.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the roadmap to help people!’” she says. She began volunteering shortly after.
Around this time, Walker had quit her job and was running The Total You fulltime. “AARP was able to walk alongside me,” she says. Volunteering gave her the credibility and structure she needed to expand what she did with The Total You.
When AARP phased out the program, she knew she had to continue the work she’d be doing. “I became a life coach, a credentialed life coach, specifically helping women in transition.”
With the skills she learned from AARP, she moved The Total You from image consulting to life consulting. The organization’s story wasn’t over there, however. Walker continues to expand the mission of The Total You.
This year, she launched The Total You Foundation. “The foundation will help (women) understand the question of ‘Who am I becoming now?’” she says.
The foundation is partnering with nonprofits and healthcare organizations to build a robust support network for the women she serves. Starting in 2027, the foundation will begin offering immersive retreats for women.
Her passion and drive for the work she does is inspired by “the innate reliance that women have,” she says. This is especially true for Black [NR3] women.
“For Black women, we always have had an internal resilience,” Walker says. “The shoulders of giants that we’re on now is the generational resilience that has been in us.”
That same resilience led Walker to overcoming the limitations set in place due to her heritage. “I knew I had to be better prepared, more engaged, more informed,” Walker says. “Because (Black women) always have to prove ourselves. We always do. As worthy, as competent, as knowledgeable.”
These experiences have allowed Walker to reach her clients in a way she otherwise might’ve not been able to. “From a Black woman’s perspective, I’ve always had a multicultural lens. That lens enables me to really see people as they are.”
Having been a business-owner for over 25 years, Walker has watched how the landscape has changed, especially for Black women. Her current work aims to celebrate these changes. “We’ve evolved as women. I believe that The Total You foundation celebrates that evolution,” she says. “This is the time for women. This is the time for women to shine; this is the time for women to be put forward.”
2026 is “an opportune time for women, especially Black women, to own their own voices,” Walker says. “(Women) are recognizing that they want to be more in control of their gifts and talents. They want to set their own pace.”
For those other Black women looking for a way to own their voice, Walker has this advice. “Don’t be discouraged by what’s going on in the world. Focus on what’s going on in terms of your personal gift.”
“Move afraid,” she says. “Do it afraid. Do it anyway.”
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Take a Hike — in the Woods
AARP Tennessee is working with the state park system to highlight accessible trails.
Stay Safe In Tennessee Natural Disasters
Practical storm season tips from AARP Tennessee and Red CrossEncore Rocks With AARP
Encore and AARP have partnered up to promote this ensemble experience