About
I am Sandra Hunter, life coach and founder of Wild Women Leaders of Color.
I believe that stories are more than simply words on a page. They forge connections – between our past and present, our present and future, our inner worlds and the external. Between ourselves and others.
More importantly, stories have power. They can shatter walls, break chains, strengthen bonds, and heal wounds.
At Wild Women Leaders of Color, I use the power of stories to help professional women recover from the wounds they sustained at their workplaces because of racism and patriarchal attitudes. Through the power of stories, we guide these women in releasing their somatic stress, finding their voice, and forming a connection that reaches back into their past and forward into their future.
I hope that, through the stories they hear and create, the women who pass through my programs will find renewed strength and confidence in themselves. I also desire these women to become leaders, rise up in their respective fields, build their legacy, and become mentors to the next generation.
A Program for Healing Through Stories
Why did I start Wild Women Leaders of Color? I formed this business because I have seen too many professional women of color rise to a certain level in the workplace but get held back by the racism they continually face. Racism in the workplace – and anywhere, in fact – causes untold stress and tension and depletes their ability to work effectively.
At WWLoC, I offer programs to help women of color somatically release their stress. These programs can ground you in your herstory, allowing you to form a deep connection to the stories of your ancestors and their contemporaries. This process prepares you to become a mentor to the next generation.
If you’re an older person or someone with a chronic condition, you may want to leave a legacy of stories and memorabilia. Through my programs, you can let go of your somatic stress and learn the elements of crafting and telling stories. We can also find opportunities for publishing or performing your stories.
All Women Are Welcome
Despite its name, WWLoC welcomes all women regardless of color. Racism, whether systemic or internalized, adversely affects everyone in one way or another. The same goes for the patriarchy – it has a significant effect on everyone, too.
We see the same patriarchal and racist attitudes being perpetuated. And we fear that the prospects of our children, grandchildren, and the next generations will continue to be negatively affected. Ultimately, these attitudes can destroy them.
Regardless of how and to what degree racist and patriarchal attitudes have affected you, you can find healing through my programs. These are opportunities for you to liberate your voice through your story. And if you want, you can become part of a radically subversive root movement that promotes the well-being and professional interests of young women.
Our herstories matter. They have power. By understanding them, giving voice to them, and sharing them, we can reclaim our roots with authenticity, become empowered, and empower the next generation in turn.
About Me
Racism. Female oppression. A sense of unbelonging. These are significant elements of my herstory.
I’m an Anglo-Indian with Sri Lankan, Portuguese, and Dutch ancestries. My father’s grandmother brought her Anglo-Indian family to England after the Indian Independence. My mother comes from a line of Portuguese and Dutch spice traders. Though her family is from Sri Lanka, they are Dutch Burghers who consider themselves superior to Sri Lankans. I found that I belonged to neither side of my family.
I also have 19+ years of teaching in college and have worked in Kenya. I faced racism and sexism at work. I’m also in my 60s, going through a divorce, and starting my own business. I know what it’s like to function under stress while working towards true self-liberation.
This goes to the root of what I offer women: to realize the beauty of their own voice, to liberate themselves from racist oppression, and to stand in their power and self-worth.
In my work as a professor, I introduced peer-to-peer collaborations to help students practice and produce rhetorical and critical thinking essays. We also worked outside the curriculum in intergenerational collaborations. During a creative writing course, my students read children’s stories to a class of kindergartners while taking notes of their use and understanding of language. My students then wrote their own children’s stories, and we returned to the elementary school to read them aloud. My students reported that this interaction was one of the most profound and valuable experiences of the course.
