Today we’d like to introduce you to Sattie Nyachwaya.
Hi Sattie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My story has been told a lot by me over the last few years, from a career space of how I got to each season. However, more and more I have spoken openly that I didn’t begin living my life until I was 30 years old. My dad is from Ksii, Kenya, and My mom is from East Texas. I was born and grew up in north Dallas, but I feel like spent more years back in East Texas, in a little country town called Paris, Texas, or as the natives would say: “The only city with an Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top”. Haha. I graduated high school there and got a full-ride music scholarship for singing because that was my only way into college. I loved singing but I never wanted to be a singer. It was just something that I was good at. I only sing now at family functions and karaoke, just for fun. Living with my mama all of my life, we were considered low-income, and the paths and curves that we had to walk throughout my childhood and teenage years made my grandmother and my mama always instill in my brother and me that people should always give back and take care of their community in any way that they can, whatever that looks like. So, when kids were playing outside, I would heavily go to church and choose to do “candy striping” or volunteer at the hospital and other places in the summer. I always wanted to work in the community; when I was a kid, I was set on being a social worker, and I wanted to own my nonprofit organization. I even had the name picked out. I had no idea that life would come full circle; I’m still pinching myself every day that I get to the things I grew up wanting to do. How I got to be where I am today is unlearning and then learning again, and I still have so much more to go.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s crazy because the answer is still that it has been a winding road. I think that’s how life goes, as roads are meant to be like that. The challenge is that how have to figure out how to embrace all of the obstacles, stagnant, and pushback that come, which is where I am now. I believe that all powerful voices of the world haven’t had a smooth road, and I hope to be powerful in my way as the seasons continue. How I navigate through it is understanding you’re “why,” as in why you do what you do, that it will always re-center you when that road is flipping and turning.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So, I work in Policy and Public Affairs for an incredible organization in Washington, DC. I also am honored to serve on a board of directors for an organization here in Dallas, TX. My passion and what most people know about me is that my portfolio work is primarily the HIV movement, sprinkled with LGBTQIA+ healthcare advocacy and reproductive justice. I am proud of all the opportunities that have come to me, but leading HIV Advocacy Day at the capitol in Texas in 2023 and being the co-founder and co-chair of Dallas’s first Black, Latino, and Indigenous Reproductive March hit home for me every time. I don’t think anything sets me apart, but just that I am honestly, super normal. I live, breathe, and panic, hahaha, like everyone else. I am always grateful for literally every opportunity because one day, you might ever have this life again.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
So much of my life has been surrounded by the people in my life. To be honest, my friends, family, and partner have seen me in so many versions of myself and have survived it with me, so I feel like my superpower is to create genuine, real relationships over time. I’m still good friends with individuals that I have known since I was 4 years old. In addition, I would say that superpower has been a big part of my achievements, especially with advocacy work. Community engagement, advocacy, and policy are all about creating honest relationships. Every person I meet who is easy or tough to work with has taught me something, and I’m grateful. Everyone should always be uplifted and empowered regardless of their personal feelings or not.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sattiechevettexx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sattiechevette100
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sattienyachwaya/
