Sarah Stankorb via sarahstankorb.com
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to Sarah Stankorb for participating in our Per-Sister Speaker Series!
Sarah Stankorb graduated from Westminster College with honors in Philosophy and World Religions, as well as the University of Chicago Divinity School with a master’s degree focused on ethics and South Asian religion and history. She boasts an impressive background as an award-winning writer with work featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Vogue, The Atlantic, and other acclaimed publications. She has directed the communications of multiple nonprofits focused on environmental advocacy, conservation, and education, and currently serves as the Vice Mayor of the Wyoming City Council.
During her talk, Stankorb shared insights into her upcoming book Disobedient Women (to be published August 8th) which describes the stories of women who utilized the internet to speak out about the abuse they experienced in their American Christian churches and communities, despite being taught not to threaten or question the men in their communities. In her talk, Stankorb explained how she became aware of the concept of Christian patriarchy and her years of research on the topic, which her book will encompass.
Another highlight from her talk was Stankorb’s stories of acting on the Wyoming City Council. Among these stories, Stankorb shared the challenges of running and acting on the council, including being far younger than her colleagues and living with a speech impediment which she worried could affect how people viewed her. She also shared many of her many achievements, such as raising 850,000 dollars to make a playground fully accessible to children and parents with disabilities.
Sarah Stankorb’s talk was extremely inspiring, with insights that the Power in Place interns can carry throughout their experiences in politics, in advocacy, and in facing prejudice.
Sylvie Richards is a rising Sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis where she is double majoring in Political Science and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Sylvie is passionate about youth civic engagement, social, reproductive, & racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights. She is Senior Forum Editor of Student Life, WashU’s newspaper, and Action Council and Social Media Co-Chair of WashU’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action. In her free time, she likes to read, bake cookies, and listen to music.