Dr. Elise Sanchez is accustomed to being the first and the only. She was the first in her family to go to college and she was among the only women of color at her school. “I already felt like I didn’t belong because nobody in my family had done it,” she says, “and no one looked like me at my school. It was really challenging.” The challenge continued when she entered the professional and academic space as a newly minted psychologist—fields essentially “built around white men,” she says. “Being young, being brown, being the first, I would think, ‘How does a psychologist dress? What should I look like?’ That was really tough in the beginning.”
But she finally had the revelation that however she looked was how a psychologist looked: She was a psychologist! “Battling these systems and being in academia was tough but stepping into and owning my power helped me.” It’s something she wants to help other women of color feel as well. Successful in academia, Elise felt pulled towards coaching once she started hiring coaches for herself. They were predominantly white women, who could be helpful but who couldn’t really understand or address her issues—growing up as the eldest daughter in a Latina family, being a women of color in predominantly white spaces, and other cultural nuances.
Just as she did, the coaching clients Elise works with “needed community and connection and someone to process with. Not someone to tell you that you just need to change your mindset. And that’s what happens all the time. We’re dismissed or blamed for how we’re feeling, when in reality there are external systems and things we’re interacting with daily that are impacting our mindset and our limiting beliefs and the stories we tell ourselves. And if you’re not a person of color, you don’t get that.”
Another way Elise is inviting women of color into a broader conversation is through her podcast, “Speak the Secret,” which has a twofold purpose: to reveal her guests’ secrets of success but also, she explains: “What are the secrets that we hold in? The shame, the taboo things that people don’t like talking about.” In an interesting way, Elise sees these “secrets” as two sides of the same coin. “We inherit trauma and generational experiences from our family lineage. But we also get so much strength, resilience, and power with it, too.” That strength sometimes comes through an “inner voice” that reveals what Elise calls “ancestral wisdom.” Listen, she says, when you feel that sense that you were meant for something more in this world. “Just get quiet enough to listen to that. We are who our ancestors have been praying for and waiting for. Listen to that voice and trust it and know that God, creator, source, whatever you believe in, gave us everything we need we just have to go out there and get it.”
Read more about Dr. Elise Sanchez in the inspiring new book Latinas Who Boss Up. “These boss ladies are truly inspiring, sharing their breakthroughs and triumphs for all of us to experience,” says author, educator, and podcaster Tam Luc. “Latinas Who Boss Up taught me more about a mix of cultures that I never stopped to examine. While there are many things shared between women of color, I also learned a few nuances that make me appreciate the Hispanic diaspora and their varied experiences. I interviewed women whose roots are in Mexico, San Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and more, from East Coast to West Coast. While our origin stories vary, we all experience life in full color and must navigate our circumstances. These beautiful women represent the world of Latina Supermamas and I am so happy to introduce them to you.”
Find Elise at SpeaktheSecret.co or on Instagram @drelisesanchez. She’s on TikTok as Dr. Elise Sanchez and there is a Speak the Secret Facebook page. You can also learn more about her at https://bossupbestseller.com/EliseSanchez, where you will find a link to Latinas Who Boss Up.
About Women with Vision International
Women with Vision International aims to inspire, uplift, and empower women everywhere to never give up their dream of living their life on purpose. We gather dynamic, entrepreneurial women who are making a difference and changing people’s lives to spark conversation around the topics that impact us all such as building their businesses, fundraising, and balancing their work and their families.
About Tam Luc
Tam Luc is an international bestselling author and the founder of Women with Vision International who shares the triumphs, stress, and struggles of balancing her life to help women grow their businesses. After 20 years as an entrepreneur, she is able to help women leverage their messages and create the lifestyle they want through her unique book messaging strategies. Hear from some of the amazing entrepreneurs who have worked with Tam at https://womenbossupsummit.com/virtualsummit
Media ContactCompany Name: Women with Vision InternationalContact Person: Tam LucEmail: Send EmailPhone: 310 710 8954Country: United StatesWebsite: https://womenbossupsummit.com/virtualsummit
