Rental Partner: Seattle Chamber Music Society presents
Summer Festival Concert #8
Piazzolla, Adams, and Schubert
Town Hall Seattle presents
Wanda Herndon with Angela Poe Russell
Working Class to Breaking Glass
EVENT NOTES
Doors for this event will open at 6:30 PM. Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.
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Working Class to Breaking Glass: One Woman's Fight to Belong and to Lead
W Communications
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In her new memoir, Working Class to Breaking Glass: One Woman’s Fight to Belong and to Lead, Wanda J. Herndon chronicles her journey from humble assistant to executive leadership. Throughout the memoir, Herndon interweaves personal storytelling with reflections on identity, mentorship, resilience, and purpose. She explores how systemic barriers shape opportunity and how determination, preparation, and community support can positively change lives. Whether she’s navigating corporate culture or confronting moments of personal loss and reinvention, her story demonstrates that leadership is not a destination but an evolving journey.
Herndon’s story begins in Flint, Michigan. Her father, who dropped out of school in the eighth grade to help financially support his family in the Jim Crow South, took a life-changing bus ride North in search of freedom and a living wage. He found both at General Motors, but his dream for Herndon was different: “You should get an office job,” he insisted. Herndon took that directive to avoid the assembly line and became one of the first in her family to graduate from college. Navigating racial barriers, economic limitations, and self-doubt, she confronted the realities faced by many Black students in America during the 1960s and 1970s. At Michigan State University, Herndon pursued journalism and entered the workforce in the mid-1970s.
With each new opportunity, she refined her leadership voice and reinforced her commitment to inclusion. A turning point came when she joined Starbucks during a period of rapid transformation and expansion. At the company’s Seattle headquarters, Herndon rose through the ranks, earning a seat at decision-making tables where demographic representation had historically been absent. Her leadership extended beyond business operations-she became a cultural advocate and bridge-builder, committed to increasing opportunities for all people.
In sharing her journey, Herndon honors the sacrifices of her ancestors and parents while encouraging future generations to claim their own place at the table.
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Wanda J. Herndon, president and CEO of W Communications, LLC, is an award-winning corporate communications trailblazer, author, speaker, mentor, entrepreneur, Broadway producer, and the first senior vice president of global communications for Starbucks Coffee Company, from 1995 to 2006. Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder and CEO, asked her to return to the role in 2008 for a one-year engagement to help execute the company’s turnaround strategy. Raised in Flint, Michigan in a working-class family shaped by the Great Migration, she became one of the first in her family to attend college, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism as well as an honorary doctor of Humanities degree from Michigan State University. She built a groundbreaking career at Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Starbucks. Her memoir, Working Class to Breaking Glass, chronicles her journey from Flint to corporate leadership, exploring race, gender, class, family legacy, belonging, and the courage to lead without compromising one’s true self while opening doors for others.
Angela Poe Russell is a veteran journalist and storyteller whose work has earned her a Gracie Award and a Northwest Emmy Award. During her 25-year career, she has taken her craft across multiple platforms including television, radio, and film – covering news in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Seattle; writing for Lifetime Movie Network; and interviewing figures ranging from President Barack Obama to cultural icons like Halle Berry and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Most recently, Angela brought her storytelling instincts to the theatrical stage with the sold-out debut of the musical Aviatrix at Seattle Public Theater, which added extra performances to meet demand during its four-week run. As the book writer and co-lyricist, Angela shined a light on the story of Bessie Coleman, the first Black and Native American woman to earn an international pilot’s license. Angela is a contributor on KIRO Newsradio and is grateful to be sharing life with her husband Victor and their blended family of two sons and two daughters.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle.
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