Saundra’s Story

Founder and CEO of Femininely Free! My journey to help women disrupt the socialized patterns that prevent them from maximizing their power and potential began more than 30 years ago. I was motivated by an essay by Audre Lorde entitled, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action." Her work inspired me to explore how individual stories could be combined to ignite a collective narrative that sustains individual and organizational change.

I started my career with a master’s degree in organizational science, taking on progressive roles in leading organizational change management at a global consulting firm. I soon realized that the key to successful organizational change is the ability to transform individual attitudes and beliefs. This revelation led me to earn a second master’s degree in transformational leadership and coaching. The combination of my practical experience and formal training forms the foundation of my narrative-based coaching and consulting services, where I harness the power of story to create sustainable change.

I first learned about the power of storytelling while sitting at my mother’s kitchen table. I listened to my mother and aunts discuss the daily challenges, limitations, and restraints they experienced at work. They were smart, independent, and hardworking, yet never able to realize their full success and potential simply because they were women. The more I heard about the injustices and systemic barriers they faced, the more passionate I became about helping women become self-advocates in their workplaces.

As I moved from the kitchen to the corporate arena, I heard other women, including myself, share the same stories of gender bias. These stories had not changed materially over the years. It wasn’t until I was being coached by a female executive about the “proper” behavior for success that I understood how the masculine-dominated narrative perpetuated the biased practices and behaviors that women have experienced for decades. It's time to change that narrative, and that's what Femininely Free is all about.

Femininely Free is here to help women insert their voices into the traditional narratives that have established roles and expectations for women. It’s time to change the old stories. My primary goal is to inspire women to change the stories they tell about themselves individually so that together, we can collectively reframe the social narrative about women.

Let’s transform narratives and societies, one empowered woman at a time. Schedule a discovery call to learn more.

Live Femininely Free!