Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Bassett.
Hi Sandra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey has been anything but linear, but looking back, every chapter has connected in a way that makes sense.
I spent more than 20 years in corporate America, working in sales, leadership, and management with companies like Frito-Lay, Mars, Dr Pepper, Hostess, and Heineken USA. That experience taught me how to lead teams, build relationships, solve problems, and understand the business side of making an organization successful.
But the arts were always a part of who I was.
I am a professional vocalist, and over the years I found myself performing more, producing programs, and becoming increasingly involved in the arts community. Eventually, my business experience and my creative life began to come together.
That intersection really became clear when I started working with cities and arts organizations on community programming. I saw firsthand how the arts could do much more than entertain. They could create connection, build community, support economic development, create jobs, and give people a sense of belonging.
That realization led me more deeply into nonprofit arts leadership. I served as President and CEO of the West Valley Arts Council and later as CEO of Phoenix Center for the Arts. Those roles gave me the opportunity to lead organizations, develop programs, oversee facilities and teams, raise significant funding, and work closely with municipalities, artists, donors, and community partners.
One of the most important things I learned during that time was that artists often have incredible talent but may not have access to the business knowledge, professional development, or opportunities they need to build sustainable careers.
That realization helped inspire the creation of PHX BIPOC Arts.
What began as an idea to provide greater access and opportunity has grown into a workforce development initiative that helps artists strengthen the business side of their careers. We have trained more than 55 artists and connected participants with professional development, paid opportunities, and resources designed to help them grow beyond the stage or studio.
At the same time, I have continued building my own career as a performing artist. Through Sandra Bassett & September Soul and my other music projects, I perform jazz, R&B, I have a Motown tribute band, The Sandra Bassett Motown Experience, blues, disco, and soul throughout Arizona and beyond. I’ve had the opportunity to perform internationally, perform sold out shows at the major venues in the Phoenix Metro Area, work with major arts venues, and continue doing something I genuinely love.
Today, I find myself bringing all of those experiences together.
I work in arts development and communications, continue to lead PHX BIPOC Arts as Founder and Board Chair, perform professionally, and am growing my consulting and speaking work through Sandra Bassett Consulting. My focus is helping artists, nonprofits, and organizations think more strategically about leadership, sustainability, funding, workforce development, and community impact.
If there is one theme that has followed me throughout my career, it is that I have never been afraid to reinvent myself.
I believe you can be a business leader and an artist. You can understand spreadsheets and stand on a stage. You can build organizations, advocate for others, and still create space for your own dreams.
For me, the goal has always been bigger than simply having a career. It has been about creating opportunities, solving problems, opening doors, and leaving the organizations and communities I touch stronger than I found them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and I think that is an important part of my story.
Like many people who have built long careers, I have experienced job changes, corporate restructuring, being downsized, periods of unemployment, and moments when I had to figure out what came next. There were times when a career path I thought was secure suddenly changed, and I had to make decisions without having all the answers.
One of the biggest transitions came when I moved to Arizona about 16 years ago. I arrived without family here, without an established group of friends, and without professional or community connections. I essentially had to start over.
That was difficult, but it also taught me something that has stayed with me: sometimes you have to be willing to walk into a room where no one knows your name and begin building relationships one conversation at a time.
I volunteered. I attended events. I introduced myself to people. I became involved in the community. I performed. I worked with cities and organizations. And over time, Arizona went from being a place where I knew almost no one to a place where I have been fortunate to build meaningful relationships across the arts, nonprofit, business, municipal, and philanthropic communities.
There have also been challenges that come with being willing to reinvent yourself. I have transitioned from corporate leadership into entrepreneurship, nonprofit executive leadership, arts administration, consulting, advocacy, and professional entertainment. With every transition, there have been people who understood what I was building immediately and others who did not.
I have learned not to allow a job title—or the loss of one—to determine my value.
Being downsized or unemployed can shake your confidence, especially when you have spent years building a successful career. But some of those uncomfortable periods forced me to look beyond the position I held and ask a much more important question: “What skills, relationships, ideas, and experiences do I have that no one can take away from me?”
That question changed how I approached my career.
Instead of waiting for one organization or one position to define what came next, I began creating opportunities of my own. That mindset eventually contributed to my work as an artist and entrepreneur, my leadership in the nonprofit arts sector, the creation of PHX BIPOC Arts, and now my growing consulting and speaking work.
I’ve also learned that resilience doesn’t mean pretending difficult things aren’t difficult. There have been disappointments, professional setbacks, financial uncertainty, and plenty of moments when I had to regroup. What I have become good at is asking, “Okay, this happened. What can I do with it?”
Sometimes the answer has been to rebuild. Sometimes it has been to pivot. Sometimes it has been to walk away. And sometimes it has been to create something that didn’t exist before.
So no, the road hasn’t been smooth. But in many ways, the detours have been responsible for some of the most meaningful parts of my journey. They taught me how to start over, how to build community, how to trust the skills I have developed, and most importantly, how to keep moving forward even when the next chapter isn’t immediately clear.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sandra Bassett Consulting & Entertainment brings together the two areas that have defined much of my career: organizational leadership and the arts.
On the consulting side, I focus on nonprofit organizational development, leadership, strategy, and sustainability. Through my Groundwork approach, I work with nonprofit leaders and emerging organizations to strengthen the foundation underneath their mission—clarifying purpose, evaluating programs, improving organizational structure, strengthening operations, preparing for funding, and developing practical strategies for long-term growth.
What sets me apart is that I am not consulting only from theory. I have spent more than 20 years in corporate leadership, served as a nonprofit CEO, worked in arts administration and development, partnered with municipalities, built programs, raised significant funding, and navigated entrepreneurship myself.
I am also the Founder and Board Chair of PHX BIPOC Arts, a nonprofit organization focused on artist workforce development, education, and creating pathways to greater professional opportunity. Building PHX BIPOC Arts has given me another opportunity to experience firsthand what it takes to take an idea from concept to programming, funding, partnerships, measurable impact, and long-term sustainability. That experience continues to inform the work I do with other nonprofit leaders.
Keynote speaking and facilitation are also an important part of my business. I speak on leadership, resilience, reinvention, nonprofit development, creativity, and turning ideas into action. My goal is not simply to inspire people for an hour. I want audiences to leave with practical ideas they can actually use.
The entertainment side of the brand reflects an equally important part of who I am. I am a professional vocalist and bandleader performing jazz, R&B, Motown, blues, soul, and disco. Through Sandra Bassett & September Soul, The Motown Experience, and my jazz performances, I create live experiences designed to connect audiences across generations.
I see consulting and entertainment as complementary rather than separate. Performing has taught me how to read a room, communicate with different audiences, tell a story, adapt quickly, and create connection. Those same skills have made me a stronger leader, speaker, facilitator, and consultant.
What I am most proud of is that my brand reflects the full range of who I am. I did not want to build a business that required me to choose between being a strategist, community advocate, and artist.
Sandra Bassett Consulting & Entertainment allows me to bring those worlds together.
Whether I am helping a nonprofit strengthen its foundation, building opportunities for artists through PHX BIPOC Arts, delivering a keynote, facilitating a conversation, or performing on stage, the common thread is helping people and organizations connect, grow, and move forward.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is creating meaningful impact—especially impact that gives people greater access, opportunity, and confidence to move forward.
Throughout my career, whether I have been working in corporate leadership, nonprofit management, community development, consulting, or performing, I have always been drawn to helping people see possibilities they may not have seen before.
That is one of the reasons I care so deeply about the arts. The arts are not just entertainment to me. They are a way to build confidence, create connection, strengthen communities, and open doors for people who may otherwise be overlooked.
I also care a great deal about integrity. I believe the way we accomplish something matters just as much as the result. I want the organizations, programs, and relationships I am part of to be built on trust, accountability, and respect.
Another thing that matters deeply to me is leaving something better than I found it. That might mean helping a nonprofit become more sustainable, creating opportunities for artists, building a stronger program, mentoring someone, connecting people who should know each other, or simply helping someone recognize the value of what they bring to the table.
At this point in my life, success is not only about titles, income, or recognition. It is about whether the work I am doing has purpose and whether it creates something that can continue to benefit others.
I want people to walk away from an interaction with me feeling that something moved forward—that they gained clarity, confidence, opportunity, connection, or even just a new way of looking at what is possible.
That is what matters most to me because I believe our greatest impact often comes from what we help make possible for someone else.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thesandrabassett.com
- Other: www.sandrabassettspeaks.com
