Unspoken: Conversations with Candace

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Unspoken Conversations, Candace is joined by Susan Welton. They discuss childhood trauma and how it can shape our lives as we grow older. Susan mentions that it's important to face our fears in order to truly overcome them. She believes that we must encounter the darkness in order to become the light.  This is an empowering message for women who have experi...

Send us Fan Mail Surviving and Thriving Despite the Odds Childhood trauma can have a profound impact on a person's life, influencing everything from their future relationships to their career choices. However, it is important to remember that just because someone has experienced trauma does not mean that they are doomed to a life of struggle. In fact, many people who have faced childhood trau...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Candace interviews John, who shares his story of trauma and addiction. As a child, John faced some difficult challenges that left him feeling lost and alone. However, he eventually found his way out of the darkness and into sobriety.    Today, John is grateful for his past experiences, as they have made him the strong and resilient person he is today. Listen with c...

Send us Fan Mail Matthew James Gutierrez is the author of a bilingual poetry book entitled Notes I Wrote Along The Way. He obtained a Bachelor’s in Science and a Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). As an undergraduate, he studied creative writing, focusing on fiction and poetry, and took courses on screenplay and television writing at UCLA. Highligh...

Send us Fan Mail Decision Permission with Kristy Jean Kristy is a mom, educational leader, speaker, and author. She is a self-proclaimed optimist/ realist ball of energy whose mission is to help us all live our best, most authentic lives. She holds a Master of Science in Educational Administration as well as Principal and Director of Instruction licensures. She values blending the expertise of edu...

Send us Fan Mail Kat Klawes is an educator, advocate and an activist. She serves on the state of Wisconsin Recovery Implementation Task Force as Sexual Assault Victim Advocate and runs a small advocacy organization named The College Campus Oversight Advocates. In this episode, Kat shares her story and finds the power in it to overcome the stigma of sexual assault. Listen to Candace and Kat as they...

Send us Fan Mail Shanon’s middle name is resilience. From high school dropout to 6 figure earner and national achiever, she grew up through family dysfunction including multiple divorces. Alienation from her biological father, poverty, molestation, and teen pregnancy. A high school dropout faced with unwanted pregnancy her hard knocks weren’t over yet. She then went on to another decade of poor de...

Send us Fan Mail Luis Vazquez was born and raised in Wisconsin. He moved to Indiana in 2010 and has a rare disorder called CVS. He has overcome mental barriers and is an aspiring CEO, author, speaker, and a mentor. He has big dreams, he’s young, he’s got fire inside of him and he’s going to accomplish his dreams. He’s 22 and he’s a rising star. In this episode, Luis joins us to share his journey g...

Send us Fan Mail Marie Ruiz was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. She is a mother of seven children with a beautiful blended family. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where she received her Bachelor’s Degree of Early Childhood Education and Special Education. She is now working at Planned Parenthood. In this episode, Marie joins us to talk about the journey she faced when her...

Send us Fan Mail Krista Hull is the Founder and Executive Director for the Redeem and Restore Center. Its mission is coming alongside women escaping sex trafficking and helps them build a foundation of healing. Krista is inspired by the courage and resiliency of women survivors and believes that with God’s help, we can restore women to a life of freedom filled with compassion. She is a Crisis Inte...

Send us Fan Mail Unspoken: Conversations with Candace Season 2: Episode 1: Confessions for Transformation with Stephanie  Stephanie was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, and then moved to Rockford, Illinois to live with her mom. In August 2020 she made another decision to relocate. She felt that her home was really in Las Vegas. Stephanie currently works in healthcare as a financial navigator,...

Send us Fan Mail Lupe is a first-generation Mexican American woman and a part of LGBTQ community. She is a graduate student and a sister of Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority Inc. Lupe is an entrepreneur. She owns and operates a food pop-up with her family, La Taquiza Guadalajara, which specializes in her families’ recipes from their region in Mexico. Focus of this episode is mentorship, coaching, life co...

Send us Fan Mail Erik comes from a Puerto Rican family. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife and their son. He is an entrepreneur and owner of Erik Zapata Fitness. Coaching, mentoring, hiring people to help you is key if you want to be successful in your personal and/or professional life. Erik is not merely a fitness coach; he is a change agent, and he has impacted many people’s lives. But first he...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Candace welcomes Heather Kenney. Heather grew up in Cornish, Maine. She got married after high school and had her daughter Jasmine at the age of 21. She moved to Wisconsin with her parents, got divorced soon, and got her degree in Dental Hygiene. She remarried to her husband Neil, and they have two daughters.  Heather shares about how sexual abuse has affected her...

Send us Fan Mail Dawn was born and raised in Milwaukee. She graduated from The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a Masters degree in Sociology. She currently works for the United Way of Grater Milwaukee and Waukesha County as the Director of Research and Evaluation, where she also serves as the Sexual Violence facilitator for the Teen Pregnancy initiative. She serves on the board for the Wisc...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Candace introduces her close friend and a great inspiration, Herica Silva. Herica was born and raised in Milwaukee. She’s been married for 20 years and has two beautiful daughters. She has 25 years of tenure at Rockwell Automation and is working as a Demand Planner.  Herica has a powerful testimony. She has been on a healing journey and is very passionate about sh...

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy gained confidence to succeed in law. Now he’s finding courage to speak about the vulnerabilities that led him here in this episode of Unspoken: Conversations with Candace Jeremy Chavez was born and raised in Racine. He graduated from Washington Park High School, got his BA at Marquette, and went to pursue his Law degree in Chicago. After law school he worked in the prosecut...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Candace welcomes a special guest, her friend Luz Ortiz-Carby. Luz is a Milwaukee Native, born to Puerto Rican parents. She is married and is a mother of three. She has over 19 years of progressive leadership and administrative experience, including some various positions that she’s held at the United Community Center, with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, where she w...

Send us Fan Mail Lydia thought she was helping a friend. She soon realized she was on the way to self-discovery of her own truth in this episode of Unspoken: Conversations with Candace. Lydia was born and raised in Racine, she has two children, and has been in the banking industry all of her life. Although they’ve known each other since grade school, they became friends when they were 19, and they...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Candace welcomes her friend Kelly. They both worked together at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Kelly was born and grew up in West Allis. She is currently working as a trade compliance for import/export. Kelly has changed many careers and has had positions such as: executive assistant, event planner, system application trainer, compliance in Healthcare and Finance....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Candace welcomes Norma Cortese and they discuss the importance of higher education and education of the taboo topics. They both are advocates for higher education, they have strong passion for the Latino community, and they were both involved in the Por La Gente Association in Racine.  Norma was born in San Antonio TX, and she moved to Racine at the age of four. Sh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unspoken Conversations with Candace, your host Candace welcomes her daughter Victoria Slomski.  Victoria was born and raised in Racine. She works at Froedtert Hospital as an MRI Imaging Specialist and is married to John. Victoria shares her personal story as a daughter of a survivor through her lens as a child, and then in retrospect, after reading the book, as...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unspoken Conversations with Candace, Candace talks to her good friend Jessika. Jessika was born in West Allis and grew up in Racine.  She has worked at All Saints for 9 years. She started as a CNA and has worked up to being the coordinator for the medical staff office. Jessika has no children, but she has a 14-year-old Westie named Munchkin. Jessika’s story is a...

Send us Fan Mail In this very first episode of Unspoken Conversations with Candace podcast, your host Candace Sanchez, the author of the book Unspoken, talks to her daughter Victoria. Candace shares about her life, how and why she wrote her book, the obstacles she faced while writing it, and how she feels now having a book with her story of survival.  Victoria joins her in conversation, sharing ab...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Unspoken: Conversations with Candace  Where we talk openly about “taboo” topics in order to spark difficult and uncomfortable conversations. Where we allow a safe place for anyone who has had trauma to be heard.  Unspoken Conversations with Candace is about speaking your truth by using your voice because you matter.  Each episode will feature a guest who will talk candi...