Harnessing Energy, Excitement, Ideas, and Support

Emily Sanders is a woman on a mission. As a survivor of sex trafficking and homelessness, Emily has found her way back to who she was always meant to be before trauma, bad luck, poverty, and circumstances beyond her control got in the way.

Emily founded Connect2Change, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women who have made the incredibly courageous choice to escape sex trafficking and rebuild their lives. Using entrepreneurship as a foundation, she has developed an effective curriculum built around a six-week cohort model: three sessions per week with groups of 8 to 12 women.

In just four years, the passion and conviction Emily brings to this work, along with the real outcomes she's already achieving, have fueled significant growth, and with that growth have come big learning curves. In 2025, Emily won the Sacramento Venture Philanthropy Fast Pitch competition at the Sophia Theatre in downtown Sacramento. A sold-out crowd of more than 250 people heard Emily's story and learned about Connect2Change for the very first time. They were captivated. Many donated and many offered help in other ways.

When I met with Emily about 6 months after the Fast Pitch competition, I could see immediately that she needed a partner to help her create a plan, one focused on clarity, prioritization, and making the most of the momentum she'd built. She had been attracting people with big, generous ideas they were eager to see her execute. And while so many of those ideas are genuinely exciting and will move the organization forward, what I recognized right away was that certain foundational elements needed to be in place first — a strong container to hold, evaluate, and prioritize all of those possibilities.

On a recent Friday, I sat down with Emily and her support team: a board member, a woman with lived experience who had completed the Connect2Change program, and an intern from Sacramento State. Our goal was to leave with a clear, one-page strategic plan covering the next 12 to 18 months, something that would help Emily focus her energy and limited resources where they would make the greatest difference.

This kind of customized session is unique. 

Part of the time I'm facilitating, drawing out what needs to happen to move the organization forward. Part of the time I'm coaching. And part of the time I'm teaching foundational nonprofit structure and best practice. I love this work. I can see the lightbulbs go on. I can see the relief that comes when a leader recognizes that having many great ideas is a gift and that prioritizing them is how you actually act on that gift. I love helping leaders find the language and the tools to honor relationships while confidently saying, "Not right now."

Emily left feeling relieved, energized, seen, heard, and supported. She has a pathway to follow, one that is intentionally flexible and agile as new opportunities arise.

I'll continue working alongside Emily for the next six months or so as she implements her priorities. I have every confidence that Connect2Change can grow into a thriving nonprofit, one where Emily is eventually able to hire and train women who've been through the program to help carry it forward.

Right now, Connect2Change and Emily need concrete support. 

Emily works 60 hours a week without a salary, often contributing from her own scarce personal dollars. One of her most important goals is to begin drawing a salary by the end of 2027 and to hire an outreach worker and a navigator to help women who are ready to break the cycle but need a little support to remove lingering obstacles in their way.

If you'd like to learn more about Connect2Change or hear Emily's story, listen in here. If you have a few dollars to contribute toward helping women rebuild their lives after sex trafficking, click here. I'd be deeply grateful.

And if you find yourself trying to make sense of your own overwhelm of ideas, advice, and energy, I can help you sort it out and chart a clear path forward. Click here to connect with me.