Raised with both traditional notions of woman's place and her grandmother's Cherokee values, Neff-LeClair's work has often been with those who are marginalized by, or omitted from, traditional institutional education and services: elderly, new immigrants, minorities, veterans, the working poor, and most of all, women. In her pioneering classes at San Diego Community College's Educational Cultural Complex, she devoted herself to mentoring women who might never have access to information necessary to become self-sufficient. She has empowered individuals from diverse backgrounds through her courses about clothing design, alteration, and production; her tutoring in everything from business accounting to strategies for an alterations business; and through decades-long friendships with former students. Today, many former students--Anglo, Latino, African-American, Laotian, Vietnamese--whose successful businesses were launched with Neff-LeClair's guidance still consider her mentor and friend, having themselves become sources of strength for their families and communities. History, as Neff-LeClair teaches it, is an explanation of our own culture, capabilities, and inspirations.