Today we’d like to introduce you to Seantae Jackson.
Hi Seantae, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story is rooted in who I am as a lover of people and true connection, but wasn’t truly shaped until about 5 years ago. I had been an educator for a decade and loved connecting with students and helping them realize their incredible and unique worth. My personal life was also very fulfilling, with a very happy marriage and 5 incredible kids (which included 2 sets of twins). We felt as if we’d finally found our groove – together, as parents, as individuals, and professionally. We were training for our first ever marathon and truly enjoyed spending time together as a big and noisy family of 7. I felt as if our life ‘path’ was set and solid.
In an instant, that all changed. My husband and I and our oldest twins went from traveling to an outdoor backpacking adventure to fighting for our lives – literally. While driving to the mountains, we were hit head-on at freeway speeds. Sirens and life flights, doctors and surgeons. Suddenly I found myself in the biggest life shift I had ever experienced. My role – as a mother, a wife, a worker, an individual – had all changed. There were some incredibly dark days, which were the birthplace of the most joyous moments I’ve ever experienced. In the moments and months that followed, I found myself focusing completely on our recovery, both physically and emotionally.
That experience became the turning point for me. The point I hadn’t asked for, and didn’t know was coming. After a year of physical recovery, I went back to education. But it was now missing something. The surface-level lunch conversations and forced smiles in the hallway left me feeling empty. It was important work, but it was no longer MY important work.
I had been planting small seeds of my true self my whole life, and I was starting to see them sprout all around me. My husband’s physical recovery was even longer than mine, and we both craved purpose and meaning in our days. One day we discovered that we both had a desire to do more, be more, and help more. So many people had gone, and would go, through what we had experienced. And we knew if we could do something -anything – to help make their journey lighter, we wanted to. That’s when our nonprofit, Sandal Blue Foundation, was born. A small seed that slowly grew into a beautiful organization serving those just like us. Emotional healing began to happen for our whole family as we connected with others and offered community and friendship.
We began sharing our story publicly, and I started having a steady flow of people requesting me to come and speak. I had never told anybody about my dream of becoming a professional public speaker, but I am now traveling all over the country sharing our story, lessons learned, and gratitude for all those that have been a part of our journey. At my roots, I continue to be someone deeply grateful to connect with others. I am so passionate that there is always ONE person out there that needs something I can give them (light, hope, understanding, friendship) and if I reach that ONE person in everything that I do, I feel I have fulfilled my purpose.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The roads most worth traveling are never smooth. Simply because the bumps and challenges along the way are what help us to shift, grow, and adapt.
The most obvious struggles have been rooted in the physical, emotional, and financial changes that occurred so fiercely and abruptly. Not knowing if your child or spouse is going to live to the next day is one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. AND that’s where faith was fueled – keeping hope alive and trusting in a power bigger than myself.
No part of healing was linear for any of us. We had to learn how to hold space for each other. My worst day could be a day of hope for someone else. Or their dark days may have been the first time I’d felt light again. There were days of progress followed by setbacks, and learning how to live inside that off-beat rhythm was difficult. I started to say, “Whatever you’re feeling is the right feeling.” This helped us to see that there was always a place for whatever came up in each of us.
One of my largest challenges was sneaky and quiet and unexpected. When we had begun to discover and accept our “new normal,” internally “normal” still felt unsettling. Even returning to work highlighted that disconnect for me. I found myself struggling with a sense of emptiness in places that had once felt very fulfilling.
And then there was the weight of attempting to hold gratitude and grief at the SAME time about the SAME thing. Hope with anger, or contentment with capability.
It was heartbreaking to watch our younger kids being forced to grow up so quickly due to the circumstances. Our 11-year-old suddenly became the man of the house. Everyone older than him was severely injured -crutches, back braces, cognitive impairments, casts, wheelchairs. He went from being the carefree middle child to doing things well beyond his years. Our 8-year-olds were asked to be strong much longer than any child should have to bear.
Yet each of these challenges has become a source of strength, a breeding ground for resilience, and an opportunity for all of us to highlight the very best parts of ourselves.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Seantae Jackson LLC & Sandal Blue Foundation?
Seantae Jackson LLC is my speaking business built around one core focus: perspective and human connection in the middle of life’s hardest moments.
I speak primarily on resilience, trauma, caregiving, and what it looks like to rebuild after crisis. My work is deeply rooted in lived experience – as a patient, caregiver, mother, and co-founder of Sandal Blue Foundation. I don’t share from theory, but from real life and the ongoing process of learning how to navigate change, loss, and healing.
What I’m most known for is creating space that feels honest and real. Whether I’m speaking to healthcare professionals, business leaders, students, or community groups, I focus on helping people feel seen and reminding them that even in the hardest circumstances, there is still meaning, connection, and purpose to be found.
My two most requested keynotes are The Support Exchange and The Patient’s Perspective to Healthcare Workers, both centered on bridging gaps in understanding, communication, and human connection in high-stress environments.
What sets my work apart is the perspective I bring from both sides of trauma – the patient experience and the caregiver experience. And how that shapes the way I speak about systems, people, and healing.
At the heart of my brand is simple: one story, one moment, or one shift in perspective can change how someone moves through their own life. My goal in every room I enter is to connect with and help that ONE person.
Sandal Blue Foundation is a nonprofit organization co-founded by my husband and I after our family survived a fatal car crash. At its core, the foundation exists to support motor vehicle incident survivors and their families as they navigate both the immediate and long-term realities of trauma.
Our focus is on connection, community, and practical support during some of the most overwhelming seasons of life. We understand firsthand how quickly everything can change, and how important it is to feel seen, supported, and not alone in the process of recovery.
We do this through education and advocacy, providing resources, and comprehensive support for survivors and their families. Much of our work centers around creating spaces – both in person and through resources – where people can find understanding, shared experience, and guidance as they move through recovery.
What sets Sandal Blue Foundation apart is that it was born directly from lived experience. We are not separate from the people we serve – we are them. That perspective shapes everything we do, from the way we show up for families to the way we build community and share resources.
What I am most proud of is how something born from one of the hardest seasons of our lives has become a place of hope and connection for others walking through similar experiences. It helps in healing them while it continues to heal us.
At its heart, Sandal Blue Foundation is about reminding people that even in the most devastating moments, they are not alone—and that healing is something we don’t have to do in isolation.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
For me, the most meaningful connections and “mentors” have come from simply showing up as myself. I’ve learned that authenticity goes a long way. When you are true to who you are—your experiences, your strengths, your perspective – you naturally attract ‘your people’ into your path.
I think it’s important not to be afraid of your strengths. Own them. Be confident in what you bring to the table, while also staying in a posture of learning and growth. Those two things can exist together. You can be grounded in who you are and still be very open to becoming more.
What has worked best for me in networking and relationships is being genuinely interested in other people. Not just what they do, but who they are and how they see the world. I try to really listen, ask questions, and stay open to perspectives that are different from my own. When I’m truly fascinated by what someone has to offer, they openly offer it!
One thing I’ve learned through my own journey is that everybody’s path looks different. There is no single “right way” to do life or work. When you can recognize that, it becomes much easier to learn from others instead of comparing yourself to them. I love the idea of a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’. Lifting others will NEVER take away from what you’re doing and who you are. It will actually lift you as well!
At the end of the day, I think mentorship and connection grow best in spaces where people are real, curious, and willing to both share and receive!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sandalbluefoundation.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seantaejacksonperspectives/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sandalbluefoundation
- Other: https://linktr.ee/SeantaeJackson
