Kenrica Sands

About Kenrica Sands

Most people in talent development come from HR or business. I come from clinical practice. My dual master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health, combined with years of evidence-based clinical work using CBT, DBT, and Motivational Interviewing, trained me in something most program managers never encounter: how people actually change. Not in theory. In practice. That foundation shapes every program I build — from ERG infrastructure and employee listening to onboarding systems and manager capability curriculum. I don’t design experiences that just inform. I design experiences that shift. At Pendo, I’ve owned ERG strategy for five groups across 850+ employees in nine global offices — including co-chairs and leads based internationally, remote to me. I’ve built operating rhythms that kept those communities connected, aligned, and genuinely influential across time zones. I’ve facilitated listening circles, coached BIPOC employees, designed manager capability programming, and used HRIS data and engagement surveys to close equity gaps. I treat programs like products: define the outcome, map every touchpoint, measure what matters, iterate until it works. Outside the corporate world, I co-founded Girls Write the World in 2014 — a nonprofit serving young Black women from the Mississippi Delta through leadership development, writing, and mentorship. Eleven years later, it’s still running. That’s not an accident. That’s what happens when you build something for real people with real accountability and real care. I’m a writer. A coach. A community builder. A person who believes the work and the human being doing it are inseparable. If you’re building something that matters — or looking for someone who shows up that way — I’d love to connect.

Experience

1. People Program Manager

   Pendo.io

   Aug 2025 — Present

   I own the strategy and operations for five Employee Resource Groups across a globally distributed workforce of 850+ employees in nine offices — including ERG co-chairs and leads based in international offices who are remote to me. Building operating rhythms that keep communities genuinely influential across time zones is one of the most human, most complex program management challenges there is. I love it. • ERG Strategy & Operating Rhythms: Stipend structures, event calendars, election and training processes for ERG leads, executive advocate relationships, and cross-ERG collaboration — all designed to function seamlessly for a distributed global team.• Employee Listening & Coaching: Facilitate listening circles and deliver 1:1 coaching to a cohort of 20 BIPOC employees using Motivational Interviewing and strengths-based approaches; synthesize themes into recommendations that shape people leader strategy.• Onboarding & Early Career Programs: Own end-to-end intern program strategy and execution — journey mapping every touchpoint, building competency-based milestones, tracking retention and conversion metrics by demographic group, iterating based on data.• Leadership Development & Manager Capability: Design and facilitate instructor-led programs for 850+ employees; partner with subject matter experts on curriculum design; enabled 15+ coaching engagements across the organization.• Data-Driven Equity: Use Workday, Culture Amp, and qualitative research to identify equity gaps; analyze retention and progression by demographic group; design targeted interventions and track outcomes.• AI & Learning Technology: Developing an AI-informed learning strategy for the 2026 intern cycle — personalized pathways, sentiment analysis for at-risk cohort identification, and behavioral prompts that encourage self-reflection at scale.

Education

• The University of Georgia

  Master of Social Work - MSW, Clinical/Medical Social Work

  2016 — 2018

• East Carolina University

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Health/Health Care Administration/Management

  2009 — 2013

• The University of Georgia

  Master of Public Health, Health Promotion and Behavior

  2016 — 2018