Sierra Etes

Award Winning Author, Co-Founder, Poet, Creator, & Mental Health Advocate

Sierra Etes is a prolific award-winning author, poet, mental health advocate, and creator from Newark, NJ who has dedicated her life's work to helping those in underserved communities develop great relationships with their mental health and well being. Through her published works, poetry, advocacy, digital platforms, and more, she uses her gift of storytelling to shed light on humanity and especially black life to bring forth healing.  

She is the author of Sunkissed Child:Poetry in Black Life, a debut poetry collection which spearheaded a global movement of women prioritizing wellness amidst their advocacy work, and tells a moving story about a black woman’s journey to healing and upkeeping her joy and mental health wellness while living in an anti-black world. 

She also co-founded Just for Black Girls, the Its in the Stars Direct Mutual Aid Network, and the Sunkissed Child Mental Health Brand alongside Azé Williams, which all work to give emergency resources and aid to those who are struggling with housing insecurity, struggling to afford mental health medications, and more. A portion of all purchases made to her brands goes directly to helping those in need. 

The aforementioned platforms are award-winning. She was recognized in 2021 by Rihanna and awarded the Savage X Fenty Game Changers Award for the impactful work she does in her community in building safe online and in person mental health wellness spaces.

Her commitment to this work extends beyond the stage and the screen. In collaboration with Yale University's Sherwin B. Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics, Sierra conducted research on structural racism and Black women's mental health, contributing findings to a forthcoming academic publication that names state violence as a primary driver of mental health crises in Black communities. She has performed and spoken internationally, written and acted in original theater,  is currently developing a television series for streaming platforms and is working on her second poetry publication titled, “An Optimist’s Battlecry" to be released in 2027.