Our Founders
The Sanctuary is co-founders, Stephanie & Etecia Burrell’s first brick-and-mortar. It is the home for their brands Worthy Beings and Letthemflourish.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
Stephanie Burrell, Co-Founder
Stephanie Burrell is a Graphic Designer, Artist, Maker and Educator. She enjoys seeing intangible ideas come alive through tangible objects. This inspires her creative pursuits such as developing apparel and home goods collections and challenges her to be the best designer she can be. Stephanie has been a freelance Designer and consultant helping small businesses develop their brand and strengthen their digital voice since 2012.
During Stephanie’s time as a graduate student at The New School’s Parsons School of Design, she also worked as a Graphic Designer for the graduate studies department, where she spent many months developing marketing campaigns and communication strategies. These campaigns not only included digital advertisements and e-newsletters but also print collateral such as event brochures, programs, flyers, maps, and tabling displays. This experience opened her eyes to the limitlessness of creative communication. Stephanie believes that one of the best skills she has cultivated as a Designer is the ability to communicate concisely and in a way that fosters meaningful connection.
While attending school, Stephanie launched a lifestyle apparel and home goods brand called ItsMeAri. Later, in 2014, Stephanie launched a brick-and-mortar print shop in Brooklyn, New York offering custom screen-printing services to the local community. In 2015, Stephanie was on a city-wide advertising campaign for the City of New York which required her to manage a design team, production timeline and work flows as well as collaboration with key City stakeholders. In 2016, Stephanie pivoted from ItsMeAri and re-branded her apparel and home goods business as Worthy Beings ®
Etecia Burrell, Co-Founder
Etecia is Black, queer, a mother, 4th generation Bayview Hunter’s Point San Francisco native, and founder of Letthemflourish ® a holistic wellness brand and birthing temple. Etecia has curated a life centered around social justice and more specifically Black liberation.
Etecia has been a lifelong lover of plants and food based healing. Her radical approach to clinical herbalism is rooted in ancestral wisdom and practices. Etecia, also known as Iya Omioki, is an initiated priest of Yemaya in the Lucumí tradition of Ifá. Etecia brings spirit into all of her work.
Etecia Burrell is a trained Western Clinical Herbalist and Ayurveda Health Counselor with over 2,000 hours of classroom and clinical experience.
Etecia is currently in a Master's program in Ayurvedic Medicine so that she may become a board certified Ayurveda Practitioner.
In October 2016, Etecia completed a full spectrum doula training program with a community based organization in Oakland, California, Roots of Labor Birth Collective. Etecia believes this Black Indigenous led training changed her life, helping her to re-imagine advocacy. Etecia has also been a certified Queer Preconception & Reproductive Health Counselor since 2016 and provides fertility doula support to people who are navigating their conception journey. In 2022, Etecia completed training with the Breastfeeding Cultural Outreach Taskforce and became a certified Peer Lactation Support Counselor.