Her Story
About Sally
I've been working as a mental health worker in a hospital while also serving as an event curator since 2022. What I do in these two fields actually has nothing to do with each other on the surface, but they merge in a meaningful way. I'm in mental health professionally, but I also just enjoy people, conversation, and connecting people with each other in places or spaces that they wouldn't think about. My event curation work started based on my podcast, which I began in 2019. I realized that just having conversations on the podcast was not enough - I wanted to bring the people in. So I opened up and got into event curating, creating what I call 'Creating Spaces.' I feel like I have this sense of discernment where I recognize when something needs to be opened up, when more people need to talk about something or be involved in it. I focus on opening up doors for people to connect. Being in the mental health space allows me to create the spaces that I believe people will benefit from - not just creating an event so everybody has fun, but creating spaces where people could be open and share where they currently are, and connect with other people that have been there or are going through the same thing. That is really the vision of what I carry. My dream is to be a provider, helping people with their mental health. I have a master's in public administration, and I'm looking into hopefully going back to school to get a master's of nursing to get more professional education in the mental health space.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sally
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to God's grace, to be specific. Faith is one of the most important values in my work and personal life, along with family. It's God's grace that has brought me through and allowed me to push through barriers in the mental health field and be flexible between the two networks I work in - mental health and event curation. My faith provides the foundation for everything I do.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to do what you love, and also to be flexible. These two pieces of advice have really guided my career path and allowed me to navigate between my work in mental health and my passion for event curation. Being flexible has been especially important in allowing me to adapt and create the spaces I believe people need.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If you have the desire for it, pray on it, and go for it. That's really the key - if you feel that calling or that passion for what you want to do, take it to prayer and then pursue it with confidence. Don't hold back if you feel drawn to this work.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The political climate is definitely a big challenge to mental health right now. Because of everything that's happening politically and how mental health is viewed - some people take it serious, some people don't take it serious - we see a fluctuation of people, especially in the psych or the psych spaces. And also the ages are concerning. People are coming in very younger and younger, and the basic help that they would get, they're not getting anymore, so it's reverting people into addiction and things of that sort. But there's also opportunity in this challenge. There's an opportunity to learn more about what is going on, to do more research, and to be more open to what could help people. I think that's where my professional background and my outside background of event creating merges, because being in that mental health space allows me to also create the spaces that I believe people will benefit from.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith and family are the most important values to me in both my work and personal life. My faith is central to everything I do - it's a safe haven for me and also a space of meeting people. Church is very important to me and provides that foundation. Family is equally important and guides my decisions and priorities. These two values together shape how I approach my work in mental health and event curation, and how I live my life overall.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Connecticut
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.