Meet Erica Sandoval | Psychotherapist, Consultant, Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Sandoval and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It was scary, but I knew it was a perfect time. The world was on fire with injustices and pain, and there were not enough Latinx social workers to support our community. My passion has been to launch a mental health practice supporting the Latinx community, immigrants, first-generation graduates, and small business owners.

Often, I’m the first Latina social worker – or even social worker of color – clients have ever worked with. Cultural humility in care can be hard to come by. To be understood, heard, and seen is not often easy, especially as a Latina. And let’s face it there are not enough mental health providers who are Latinas.

I’ve had to work hard, find my grit, and hustle in order to build my valued community of other Latinx social workers. Even though Latinx people make up the largest ethnic minority in America, but only 14% of social workers are Latinx.

That experience as a social worker is what inspired me to found Sandoval CoLab, LCSW PLLC.

Seeking help can be a pretty radical concept to the Latinx community. I don’t have to tell you how it’s hammered into us that we should figure out our problems by ourselves and not air our dirty laundry. We have often had to pretend everything is OK. Ponte tu lapis de labios y sigue adelante mija. Se Fuerte, si Puede.

But I’ve spent my entire career unpacking that narrative of shame and coming to understand how I can better serve myself, my family, and my community by having a support system that includes someone I can talk about my deepest feelings with.

This is why I’m dedicated to amplifying the voices and businesses of other Latinas because I know just how hard it is to be a Latina small business owner. And I don’t want us to keep struggling. Talking honestly about where we come from, what we’re doing, and where we want to go is the first step toward manifesting businesses and lives that work for us.

Nothing great is easy – I learned that first hand. I was working in a restaurant as a hostess when I decided to drop out of college. I wanted to work in the music industry, and I would network and meet with as many people as possible, and when I began working in the music industry at 21, I figured, since I was already hired, why continue with college? In all honesty, as I reflect back, I was not able to concentrate and focus. I was living on my own, my parents moved back to Ecuador, and I barely had enough money to pay my bills. A few years later, I was married and had my daughter and everything changed. She gave me a new perspective on life. I wanted to give her more, and working as a coordinator at a music label was not cutting it, so I quit to spend more time with her and went back to school. I worked as a waitress and focused on school. I did not let anything get in my way. Though my marriage fell apart, and I became a single mom, I had more fire in me than ever before. By the time Isabella was 10, I graduated with my master’s in social work from NYU, and by the time she was 21 I owned my own business and published my first book. I learned you have to find your grit. Limit the negative self-talk and most importantly, focus on your healing. Let go of what does not serve you, because it can weigh you down, and that will hold you back from being your best self.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Sandoval CoLab’s first venture was actually a book that was published this fall– Latinx in Social Work— by the incredible Jaqueline Camacho Ruiz at Fig Factor Media.

I edited a collection of personal narratives by 21 other Latinx social workers sharing their journeys navigating their career of social work and highlighting the urgent need for culturally humble care. The book has been lauded for how this community of Latinx professionals is claiming space for their narratives. Readers have shared with me how inspiring and healing these stories of vulnerability, challenge, and triumph by Latinx people are. We even went #1 on Amazon Best New Release and Best Seller in Social Work on the first day it dropped.

Since then, Sandoval CoLab has expanded to support diversity, equity, and inclusion work. We help businesses, individuals, education, health care, and social service organizations navigate workplace wellness so that employees feel safe and can better serve their mission.

We tackle organizational culture, ways that workplaces are perpetuating racial and social injustice, and how being more emotionally in touch with ourselves makes us able to show up authentically in our work.

One of the main principles of social work is that no one has to go it alone. In my therapy and business consulting practices, I’m first and foremost your partner. I’m accompanying you on your journey to find your most authentic and at-peace self. And I’m the person in the room who’s professionally trained in coping strategies and navigating periods of stress and discomfort.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
New York is full of so much beauty. It depends on the season, but if you come in during the fall and winter, we would take a drive to the Catskills and Hudson, New York, hang out there for a couple of days and get some rest and relaxation. The colors and nature are breathtaking. Once you are all rested up, and recharged, you are ready for the city. Our beautiful city is thriving again! We would head to a speakeasy downtown for a drink before we have dinner at one of the many incredible restaurants in NYC. I like to support Latinx-owned businesses, so we would make a few stops. We will definitely get some steps in by heading to the museum and hitting the shops.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not have been able to do this without my c Collective, especially my social work madrina, Dr. Linda Lausell Bryant. Dr.  Bryant is a leader and mentor for so many, and she gives of herself selflessly. We met in 2015 when I was a field educator for one of her students, Olga, who was interning at the Latino Social Work Coalition. Since then, she saw me and helped nurture my skills and reminded me of the gifts I had. It is hard to recognize our own greatness at times, our imposter syndrome kicks in. She has always supported me in conquering that negative belief. Jackie Camacho Ruiz has also done the same. She is the Founder and CEO of Fig Factor Media. As I shared my vision of the book, she gave me the autonomy to create a dream team of authors, and my passion became a reality and my purpose. There are so many groups and organizations that have been incredible collaborators, NYU Silver School of Social Work, DEI Director, Richeleen Dashield, Prospanica NY Board of Directors, and of course the Latino Social Work Coalition, the organization I chose to receive partial proceeds of the book.

Businesses don’t launch without a great team, and I am proud to share that Luisa Lopez, from Lopez & Co. Media, Vanessa Alamo, my web designer, and Eva Forde, my business coach, were an integral part of the process.

The constant though is my driving force, my daughter Isabella, who is my number one supporter and gives me the love I need to keep reaching for the stars.

Website: https://www.sandovalcolab.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latinxinsocialwork/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-priscilla-sandoval-lcsw-483928ba/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandovalCoLab/

Other: http://www.latinxinsocialwork.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sandovalcolab/

Image Credits
Gareth Shaw Photography @garethshawphotography