Shanda Delores Williams, aka Sister Sankofa, 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 (Calloway) Williams and Henry C. Williams Jr. and the younger sister of Donnamarie (Williams) Brown. 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 cofounded 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 Co-op’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 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 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.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, 1 p.m., at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. In lieu of flowers, her family requests donations to help Shanda be laid to rest in Connecticut. (gofundme.com/f/rest-sister-sankofa-with-her-ancestors)
May her work live on through her family, friends, colleagues and coconspirators — and may she rest in peace and power.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2025.