Kathy Sanchez

Kathy Sanchez (Indian name, Wan Povi) is a community activist from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. Kathy has worked women’s issues related to culture, the environment, and social change for most of her life. She was the co-founder of Tewa Women United, a group that raises awareness about environmental issues, domestic violence prevention, and drug and alcohol abuse. Tewa Women United also promotes innovative support groups for women of all backgrounds. Kathy organized a “grandmother’s circle” of a dozen pueblo women who travel together to the pueblos to support to anyone who needs it on a variety of issues. Kathy is an educator, activist, and fighter for the rights of women and the oppressed. She has organized women’s voices in her community to be instruments of political, social, and economic change for gender equity and equality both in Indian Country and internationally. As part of her work to form links outside her own community, Kathy serves as the New Mexico coordinator for the National Women’s Economic Literacy Collaborative. What makes Kathy special is her ability to inspire and educate others -- she doesn’t tell women what to do, but instead models ways to achieve goals and promote positive change in the world. See: www.tewawomenunited.org.
September 2005