The 6th annual Sistas In Sales Summit with Kerry Washington (Courtesy of Sistas In Sales)

Kerry Washington delivered the closing keynote discussion at Sistas In Sales 6th annual summit, and it felt like our own personal inside look into her new memoir “Thicker Than Water.” Sistas In Sales, which is the leading global organization serving women of color across the sales sector, hosted its sixth annual Sistas In Sales Summit presented by Walmart Connect on September 22nd and 23rd at The Glasshouse in New York City! The week-long programming was truly an experience filled with Black girl magic and empowerment to continue pursuing their goals within the sales industry. 

Related Articles:
My Dad, Me, and the Healing Power of Forgiveness
Black Love Summit Aims to Build Stronger Black Communities
How Therapy Changed My Life

Emmy award-winning actor, advocate, and activist Washington closed out the summit, sharing the truth of her life (while gifting 300 women copies of her book) and what she called becoming the main character of her own story. Her new memoir, which is officially available September 26th, “Thicker Than Water” chronicles the Bronx-born actress’s journey to a deeper understanding of her family and herself when she discovered news that her father was not her biological father and that she was conceived through a sperm donor. The beauty of Washington sharing this revelation was the overwhelming amount of unconditional love that shined through for her parents, sitting in the summit’s audience with pride in their daughter, who means so much to the world. While some might assume that Washington is on a path to forgiveness for living four decades of her life not knowing the truth of who she is, she beautifully stated that for her, forgiveness isn’t the language she’s thought of; it is grace and redefining what family means.

“Some families actually define family by ‘Are you willing to keep our secrets?’ We are really working toward this different culture of can we love each other with more intimacy. Can I reveal who I am? Can I be myself? My parents now know that I love them unconditionally,” the mother of three shared while discussing how her family is now loving and leading in transparency and she is also leaving the door open with her own children to ask her anything at any time.  

Chantel George and Kerry Washington at the Sistas In Sales Summit (Courtesy of Sistas In Sales)

Sistas In Sales also welcomed not just Washington but Broadway stage actress Sheryl Lee Ralph to #SISWEEK and award-winning television personality and businesswoman Bevy Smith where they both shared words of wisdom at the Sis Gala: Power 100 List Honorees Dinner. The exclusive event honored industry trailblazers, including Bonita Stewart, VP of Global Partnerships at Google; Ben Keith, Strategy and Business Development Manager of DEI at Walmart Connect; Michelle Ward McGee, Director of Global Culture at Microsoft; and Aimee Frank, Area Vice President of Marketing Cloud at Salesforce. 

“Through the sixth annual Sistas In Sales Summit and the introduction of #SISWEEK, we were able to emphasize our commitment to creating a hub for industry innovation and pipeline opportunities for professionals to succeed within the sector,” says Chantel George, CEO and Founder of Sistas In Sales. “The expansion of our content is a testament to this year’s summit theme, ‘We Are Here,” which serves as a proclamation empowering the identities, ingenuity and advancement of women of color in sales. We are grateful to our partners for supporting our vision of taking our programming a step further this year and curating a week of events that encapsulated Sistas in Sales’ mission.”

The 2023 Sistas In Sales Summit was powered by Oracle, Motive, Workday, Braze, Dynatrace, Pinterest, Snapchat, Docusign and TikTok.To learn more, please visit sistasinsales.com.