Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur
DEI Strategist/Consultant/Speaker Sumun Pendakur Consulting
“I started working with Sara at a time of a major life and work transition for me.
After 20 years in progressively complex leadership roles in higher education, I was planning on leaving my executive position at a university to strike out on my own. I had been craving greater creative control and did not want to commute multiple hours a day anymore. This "pivot" was something that I had been contemplating for several years, and with all the pain and uncertainty the pandemic living brought, it also brought great clarity as to what I was looking for.
I wanted and needed support to craft a life that centered around family, my own desires and ambitions, and the work I wanted to do in the world - partnering with individuals and organizations to move the needle on social justice and racial equity. I knew, intellectually, that I had the skills, drive, and reputation to make this transition work, yet I felt tentative about the reality of hanging my own shingle. I was battling my worst enemy - self-doubt.
Working with Sara has been a revelation. She so skillfully makes space for all parts of me - the thinker, the worker, the mommy, the tired/worn out working woman, the excited and hopeful me. I have felt incredibly safe, cared for, challenged, and supported. Sara has been a loving witness to my tears, shared in my laughter, and equipped me with tools to rewrite old scripts that are no longer serving me.
Sara has provided a timely mirror at a time in my life when I am engaged in unlearning and relearning in some profound ways. I find that her words pop into my brain at those times when I am falling back into unhelpful patterns of behavior or thinking - like a modern day Jiminy Cricket!”
