OUR STORY

We’re kindred

We are living in a time of disconnection. Women, particularly Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women, are expected to lead, heal, outperform, and endure — often without spaces to exhale.

Kindred was born from lived experience. From loss and grief. From invisibility and othering. From burnout inside institutions that demanded excellence without offering belonging.

We know what it feels like to shrink to survive. We also know what becomes possible when we gather in spaces that do not require performance.

Kindred exists because healing is communal. Belonging is sacred. Joy is our inheritance.

ellen min

Community Builder. Educator. Equity Leader.

Ellen Min is a community builder, educator, and equity leader whose work is rooted in radical love, collective care, and the belief that no one should have to shrink to belong. A second-generation Korean American woman, Ellen carries with her the intersectional identities that form her foundation of her leadership - transforming invisibility into connection and power.

With nearly two decades in education as a high school English teacher, school leader, and equity practitioner, Ellen has worked at the intersection of access, belonging, and leadership. She currently serves as Associate Director for Student Access & Achievement at Dickinson College, and adjunct professor for the Elizabethtown School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Beyond institutions, Ellen is deeply committed to building community. She served on the board of Leadership Harrisburg Area, Diversity and Inclusion Professionals of Central PA, PA Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Network, and the Central PA Korean Association. In response to rising anti-Asian hate, she founded HAAPI (Harrisburg Asian American Pacific Islanders) in 2021, helping to create spaces of visibility, joy, and collective healing. Ellen has also been appointed to serve as a Commissioner on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women, where she advocates for policies that support and empower women across the state.

As Co-Founder of Kindred Collective, Ellen brings a vision of leadership that is relational, reflective, and grounded in presence. She believes healing is communal, joy is a birthright, and liberation begins when we are seen, held, and allowed to be fully ourselves.

AMBER SESSOMS

Cultural Strategist. adult Educator. Healer.

Dr. Amber M. Sessoms is a cultural strategist, adult educator, and healer whose work invites people to hear and trust their own truth. Shaped by her experiences growing up as a Black girl in a predominantly white town and navigating early loss and “othering,” Amber has dedicated her life to reimagining systems of care, leadership, and belonging.

A nationally certified school psychologist and the founder of Natural Inclination LLC, Amber is the creator of the 3D Power Tools Framework, which supports individuals and organizations in leading from wholeness rather than burnout. Her work centers dignity, values-alignment, and collective care as essential conditions for sustainable change.

After 13 years as a school psychologist witnessing the normalization of exhaustion and harm, particularly for Black women and those shaped by girlhood, Amber’s doctoral research affirmed what she already knew: when people gather in values-aligned, affirming spaces, transformation is not only possible, it is inevitable.

Amber is an award-winning practitioner and keynote speaker, the first person of color to be named Pennsylvania School Psychologist of the Year, and the first to serve as President of the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as Chair of the Programs Committee for the Council of Trustees at Millersville University, co-leads Pennsylvania’s Black Youth Suicide Prevention Workgroup, and co-hosts the intergenerational podcast Living in 3D Power with her daughter, Emma.

As Co-Founder of Kindred Collective, Amber brings deep wisdom, curiosity, and reverence for intergenerational knowledge. She believes healing is not an individual task, but a shared practice, and that joy, safety, and truth are essential tools for liberation.

VISION. mission. VALUES.

  • We envision a world where those shaped by girlhood thrive in the fullness of their being.

  • We cultivate a liberatory sisterhood of healing, learning, and joy.

  • Liberation is the Practice

    We dismantle narratives that ask us to shrink and nurture collective flourishing.

    Community is Medicine

    Healing happens in relationship. We cultivate brave, honest sisterhood.

    Truth is Sacred

    We name what systems silence and restore dignity through storytelling.

    Embodiment is Wholeness

    Rest, joy, and somatic wisdom are essential to sustainable leadership.

    Wisdom is Intergenerational

    Youth lead. Elders evolve. Wisdom flows in every direction.

    Integrity is Intersectional

    We center the lived experiences of those most pushed to the margins and hold complexity with care.