Shanda Delores Williams, age 50, of Montpelier, Vt., passed away peacefully in

Adamant, Vt. on January 28, 2025.

Born on February 6, 1974, in Hartford, Conn., Shanda was the daughter of Barbara Ann

Williams (Calloway) and Henry C. Williams Jr., and the younger sister of Donnamarie

Brown (Williams). She was a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.

Shanda studied public relations at the University of Connecticut. After a 15-year career

in the banking and insurance industry, she moved to Vermont in 2017. In 2019, she co-

founded the Vermont Kindness Project, devoted to healing trauma through community.

Then, through her innovative solo business venture SD Communications, she wove

together social justice programs, small business consulting, networking events, event

facilitation and creation, and talent promotion to conscious-minded businesses,

organizations, and artists in Vermont and beyond. Her "Money Matters: Financial

Liberation and Wellness" series helped several people become homeowners, and in

2023 she was named "Innovator of the Year" by the Central Vermont Economic

Development Corporation. She was also a collaborator and program presenter with An

Economy of Our Own.

She helped organize The Everything Space's My Grandmother's Hands Study Groups,

and facilitated the BIPOC groups. She was also active in the Vermont Professionals of

Color Network, the Vermont ReLeaf Collective, EmpowR Transformation, Community

Resilience Organizations, Liberation Ecosystem, and the Center for Crime Victim

Services Advisory Council; she served on the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation

Commission, Hunger Mountain Coop's Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Committee and on the board of directors of the People's Health and Wellness Center;

and she worked for the Good Samaritan Haven. She helped create the Paij Wadley-

Bailey Community Garden and participated in and/or helped organize numerous

community events, including the Race Against Racism and several Juneteenth

celebrations.

As a passionate changemaker, reparations activist, equity strategist, BIPOC community

advocate, and lover of humanity, Shanda was deeply committed to healing trauma and

bringing people together. In 2024, she renamed herself as Sister Sankofa — Sankofa is a

Twi word from the Akan people of Ghana that means "go back and get it" — fitting for a

woman who consistently turned challenges into opportunities to heal the world.

Shanda loved being an aunt, spending time with and traveling with her sister and her

many friends, and connecting with people from all walks of life. She adored animals,

and enjoyed pet-sitting as well as sun and moon gazing. She worked hard to overcome a

fear of heights, practicing on Cliff Street in Montpelier, and working her way up to a trip

up Mount Washington on the cog railway. A talented singer and actress, she performed

with the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir, the Green Mountain Gospel Chorus, Lost

Nation Theater, Unadilla Theater, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and the

Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir.

Shanda will be remembered for her endearing and sometimes sassy personality, her

beautiful singing voice and infectious laugh, and especially for her generous spirit and

big heart. She was a master relationship-builder, gifted in bringing people together

through the power of love, song, word, and healing. She loved Jesus and believed in

God, relying on her faith to get her through all things. She was active in various

churches throughout her life, including the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in

Barre, Vt.

Shanda is survived by: her father, Henry C. Williams Jr. of Orange, N.J.; her sister,

Donnamarie Brown of Rocky Hill, Conn.; her niece, Barbara L. Williams-Vazquez of

Somerville, Ala.; and great nieces Jordan D. Vazquez and Nailah Vazquez; her aunts

Rosemarie Williams of Bloomfield, CT; Cynthia Ferguson of East Hartford, CT; and

Alice Goldson of Hartford, CT; and cousins Denzel and Joshua Closs, along with a host

of other relatives and friends in many states. She was preceded in death by: her mother,

Barbara Ann Williams (Calloway); and her nephew, Kendale A. Fair.

A Celebration of Life will be planned for at a later date in Vermont. In lieu of flowers,

her family requests donations to help Shanda be laid to rest in Connecticut.

(https://www.gofundme.com/f/rest-sister-sankofa-with-her-ancestors)

In her own words: "Through my faith in possibility and love for humanity, I aim to build

bridges for people to embrace change through the power of healing racialized trauma,

one person at a time. Through my journey healing from racialized trauma and white

supremacy culture, I have become more confident and conscious of how to construct my

own empowering narrative and collaborate with others working towards transformative

justice." May her work live on through her family, friends, colleagues, and co-

conspirators — and may she rest in peace and power.