Sade is a native to Denver, CO, although raised in Moreno Valley, CA, her roots are deeply embedded in the Mile-High City. In 2004 she pursued a career in finance with US Bank, soon after she climbed the ranks being promoted to Branch Manager leading a team of thirteen employees as well as being awarded the Top District Performer Award, Teller Sales Coach, Project Homeless Initiative and was selected by her region to serve as a representative of the Talk about US Campaign sharing her story and community activism. While at US Bank, Sade found her purpose, which was service and focusing on her community. Sade’s commitment to her community has led her to several volunteer opportunities and community leadership roles. She has served on the board of, Parkhill Pirates Youth Organization, Project Voyce and Second Chance Home Ministries. She also volunteered with Goodwill Industries of Denver’s Youth Summer Bridge Program and served as an Ambassador for the American Heart Association.

Sade’s life experiences and passion for serving her community guided her vision of opening her own non-profit in 2017, Collaborative Healing Initiatives within Communities, CHIC, www.chicdenver.org . CHIC’s mission is to build women’s economic, social, and cultural capital because powerful women build healthy families and thriving communities. In this time under Sade’s commitment and leadership CHIC’s programming has grown from focusing on gang reduction for female youth to implementation of CHIC’s unique Impact Youth-Educational Programming being implemented currently in 4 DPS schools. This program focuses on mindfulness, positive identity, self-efficacy and increased school engagement among students of color. CHIC’s Women at Work program was recently recognized at The Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s Annual Luncheon. This program provides career planning and readiness, and placement supports for women who face high barriers to employment. Sade diligently leads her team and continuously looks for opportunities to expand CHIC’s programs to positively effect change amongst underrepresented women in our community.

Sade’s leadership philosophy is simple: ”Our duties naturally emerge from such fundamental relations as our families, neighborhood, workplaces, our state or nation. Make it your regular habit to consider your roles, parent, child, neighbor, citizen, leader-and the natural duties that arise from them. Once you know who you are and to whom you are linked, you will know what to do. -Epictetus, I credit this core philosophy when leading and serving others. My roles, past experiences, relationships with others and connection to my community, are the leading factors to my innate responsibility to do the work I do.’

“To start something is to change everything”- Sade’ Cooper