Wealth Building Strategist, Small Business Coach, Mental Health Expert
Anissa Keyes is the Founder and Visionary of Arubah Emotional Health Services, PA, a mental health clinic that has been serving individuals and families since 2012. Anissa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, and Registered Yoga Teacher.
Over the years, Anissa has successfully stewarded the growth of Arubah from a small business into an organization serving the mental health needs of its community. She has learned to leverage the strength of one asset to create another, using her clinical expertise to build a sustainable business, and then using that business to create opportunities for ownership, development, and greater community impact.
Anissa is now expanding that vision through Arubah Franchising, creating opportunities for other aspiring business owners to own and operate an "Arubah." Her long-term vision is to expand Arubah throughout Minnesota, increasing access to culturally responsive emotional and mental health support, particularly for individuals and communities who have historically been unseen, underserved, or ignored.
From Mental Health to Placemaking
Anissa has always had an affinity for real estate, although her early experience was primarily in residential properties. In 2017, she took her first step into commercial real estate as a strategy for scaling her business.
Her first commercial venture was The Healing Center, a 5,000-square-foot building located at the corner of 52nd and Bryant in North Minneapolis. Anissa envisioned something beyond traditional office space. The Healing Center was intentionally created to bring traditional talk therapy and bodywork providers together under one roof, offering the community access to a more holistic approach to healing. Its lower-level community space has also become a gathering place for workshops, yoga classes, trainings, small events, and other healing-centered activities.
As Arubah continued to grow, Anissa began envisioning a permanent headquarters in North Minneapolis, the community where she was born and raised. She was deeply aware of the lack of Black ownership in the community and the impact that limited ownership can have on economic stability, opportunity, and quality of life.
In 2021, Anissa purchased the historic Old Camden Park State Bank, a nearly 20,000-square-foot building in North Minneapolis.
The investment did not come without significant challenges. The redevelopment became larger and more costly than anticipated. Timelines stretched, tenants left, and the project came with tremendous financial and personal sacrifice. But as the original vision changed, a larger one emerged.
Instead of simply creating a headquarters for Arubah, Anissa began building an ecosystem.
The Northside Epicenter – A Black Business Ecosystem became Anissa's second intentional placemaking project, a space designed to support Black businesses, entrepreneurship, community connection, and economic development. The project reflects her growing belief that buildings can be more than real estate investments; when intentionally developed, they can become assets that strengthen entire communities.
From Placemaking to Affordable Housing
When Anissa purchased the historic bank building, the property also included an adjacent lot. As her knowledge of commercial real estate and development grew, so did her vision for what that land could become.
That vision became The Remnant.
The Remnant is Anissa's entry into affordable housing development and represents another extension of the population she has served throughout her career. Rather than viewing mental health, housing, economic stability, and community development as separate issues, Anissa sees them as deeply interconnected.
In February 2025, Anissa received predevelopment funding from the Metropolitan Council to begin exploring the site's possibilities. Since then, she has worked alongside a development team to explore multiple affordable housing concepts, including mixed-use affordable housing and townhome options.
For Anissa, The Remnant represents something bigger than developing another property. It is about taking what might otherwise be overlooked and using it to create something that remains, an asset capable of serving families and strengthening the community for generations.
Building Wealth for the Kingdom
Through her experiences in business development, commercial real estate, placemaking, affordable housing, and mental health, another passion has become increasingly clear: wealth building, specifically, wealth building for the Kingdom of God.
That passion led Anissa to build the infrastructure for Kingdom, Inc., a nonprofit organization that partners with local churches to provide financial education rooted in Biblical principles and practices. The goal is to help believers move beyond simply surviving financially toward stability, ownership, wealth creation, generosity, and legacy.
Kingdom was initially launched in 2021 as a pilot initiative and enters its fifth year in 2026. What makes the model particularly unique is that education is paired with tangible investment. Participants are not only taught financial principles; they receive individualized mentorship and seed funding to help them begin putting those principles into practice.
Anissa believes financial education becomes far more powerful when people are also given an opportunity to apply what they have learned.
Her desire is to see individuals and families live financially thriving lives—with the ability not only to care for themselves today, but to leave a legacy for their children's children.
Across every venture, mental health, business ownership, commercial development, affordable housing, placemaking, and financial education, the mission remains connected.
Heal people. Build assets. Create ownership. Strengthen communities. Leave legacy.
Anissa considers this work her Marketplace Ministry. She believes the businesses, buildings, resources, relationships, and opportunities entrusted to her are ultimately tools for service. Her commitment is to continue stewarding those resources in ways that create opportunity for others, strengthen her community, build generational wealth, and ultimately glorify God.