Yvonne Williams-Castellanos
What is your industry or area of expertise?
Project management, marketing, and community building. I create spaces for women of color—and especially Black women—to feel like they can breathe, be, and get healing and support to move into the next phases of their lives.
Why do you believe in the mission of BlackFemaleProject?
Every day Black women are asked to exploit ourselves for the benefit of others—to make slaves of ourselves and completely deny ourselves for the benefit of other people. And BlackFemaleProject firmly rejects this notion and says, “No, we’re not going to do that. We are going to uplift ourselves and affirm ourselves and our humanity for our own happiness and joy.” It’s really revolutionary in a lot of ways.
What brought you to BlackFemaleProject?
I looked into it and I was really inspired to connect with BlackFemaleProject because I was emerging in my career, and being surrounded by a group of powerful, self-actualized Black women at the top of their game was really attractive to me. It provided me with great opportunities for mentorship and also to mentor others. And to get the strategic skills from their experiences has really helped me in my career.
How has BlackFemaleProject impacted you personally?
Very firmly and concretely. When I got my current job, I reached out to BlackFemaleProject to ask if I could get some navigational support, and I was connected to a wonderful HR consultant, Lesa Hammond. She gave me the tools to negotiate a higher pay for myself and leverage the multiple job offers that I got. I’ve seen that level-up from myself in terms of positionality and pay in my career. So it’s impacted me greatly.
What motivated you to join the board of BlackFemaleProject?
In a world where I'm constantly asked to qualify and quantify my experience, being able to pour into BlackFemaleProject in this way reaffirms my experience and almost acts as a mirror. It says, “Yes, you are an expert in your field, you have experience, and we also believe that it can be useful and helpful for others.” It gives me space to feel that my experiences are valid, as well as the expertise that I do bring to the table. I love being able to positively contribute to someone else’s growth. It reminds me of the people who have come before me and the fact that I have a responsibility to make space for others.
What BlackFemaleProject content or offering have you found most resonant?
Always, always, always the Black Joy Parade — they typically have a tent there with activities and networking. I love to see BlackFemaleProject in that space affirming Black joy for Black women in the workplace. Also, the podcast—there have been times when I have been like, “Oh God, I have to go back and listen to this again.” And it will put me right back into divesting my energy from the craziness of life and investing it in myself. It reminds me of the actual tasks I need to do to care for myself—make those appointments, go to the spa, text my friends…I’m always affirmed to create the joy in my life that I want to see manifest in the world.
Bio:
Yvonne Williams-Castellanos is an Oakland and Berkeley native whose main passions are to curate spaces for women of color to feel safe, affirmed, and motivated to actualize their dreams. At an early age, Yvonne’s interest in community development was birthed in drumming classes at the Malonga Casquelourd Center, “edutainment” media courses at Baycat, and in staff meetings of It Takes A Village, where she witnessed her mother lead with intentional care and thoughtfulness for clients and staff alike. Here, she witnessed the power of community collaborations prosper, despite any odds. Now a businesswoman of her own, Yvonne continues her community work by providing business development, community building, outreach, and social media marketing support to organizations, with the goal of helping to ensure that women of all backgrounds have a safe space to be heard, seen, and held.
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