Our Story

Sisterhood Nation was founded in October 2020 by Brenda Ochoa and Kim Jansen in an effort to create safe and inclusive spaces for women to gather and talk. We used a healing-centered approach, implementing elements of peacemaking circles in our gatherings. In our first sessions on Zoom we explored cultural messages (sexism, patriarchy, under-representation, wage gaps, health disparities) we have all been exposed to and how those affect our daily lives. Over time, the Zoom sessions evolved to hold space for whatever subjects the women in the group wanted to talk about. 

In our international Saturday meetings (coming again soon), we were able to gather with women who were from three different continents. It was interesting to find that we were isolating in similar ways no matter where we were from. The shared pattern we found was one of women not being in close relationships with other women. Instead, we tend to have that one good friend/sister/aunt we talk to. And those conversations still don’t happen nearly often enough. 

Under the umbrella of Equity Institute, we also started gathering with the women and non-binary folks in our own organization. The support, comradery and healing that has come out of those weekly meetings has been life-giving for us. Especially for those of us who had not experienced close, supportive relationships with other women before. 

All this reinforced our belief that women need each other for our collective healing and liberation. We have felt so heard and validated gathering with a supportive network of amazing women/non-binary folks. We have lifted each other up, walked parallel journeys, shared healing practices that worked for us, promoted and encouraged each other personally and professionally. We have all needed it. Especially now. 

At Sisterhood Nation, we understand that we live in a white supremacist culture and that in our culture at large,  “women” often means “white women”. Coming from the world of K-12 education, we have seen how many mainstream places, that are safe and celebratory for white women and girls, are poisonous and harmful to BIPOC. Sisterhood Nation is committed to being the antidote to this poison. We have to be.

We make a deliberate effort to approach topics of conversation from an intersectional perspective; considering race, disability, immigration status, sexual orientation and gender identity as layers of accessibility and empathy that are invisible to others. 

Trans women are women. Non-binary folks are also always welcome to join us.