Penekala “Neka” Perkins was born and raised in Longs, South Carolina. After graduating high school, she attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration majoring in Management. After successfully completing her degree, she was hired by the Department of Navy as a Human Resources Specialist intern. That was a very exciting time in her life but she wanted more. Neka made the decision to go back to college to further her educational studies. While still being an intern, she enrolled in Troy University in Troy, Alabama and pursued her Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and a Certification in Government Contracting.
Almost 14 years later, she serves as a Senior Labor Relations Advisor for the Department of the Navy. In that capacity, she has been designated by the Secretary of the Navy to serve as an Agency Representative before third parties such as the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Federal Services Impasses Panel (FSIP), and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
In 2012, she became pregnant for the very first time but suffered a devastating loss. She lost her first-born named Trinity. However, she never lost the faith. In 2013, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom she named, Faith. This led to her becoming a platform to help others heal. Almost 7 years later, the year of completion, she and her now six-year-old daughter, Faith, began writing children’s books to help others learn how to cope with a loss. To date, they have 3 published books and is currently working on three more. She is also the Co-owner of Kids Need Faith 2, LLC where she and Faith strives to inspire and motivates young kids to never give up through their books, clothing tag lines and inspiration.
In the midst of writing children’s books, she collaborated with other authors to write a 90-day devotional, “Finding Joy In The Journey”, which is to be released later this year. Now with the onset of COVID-19, she was invited to share her story of confinement, to encourage others. Through her poem, she hopes each of you can relate and be encouraged!
