“I want people to know who I used to be. I want employers to know that if you can invest in someone like me, they're going to be loyal.”, she is known as Captain Sandy, a super yacht captain who shares lessons about life and leadership while managing various crises at sea.
But Sandy Yawn is also an entrepreneur and pioneer who overcame addiction and other challenges to rise to the top of a male-dominated industry.about how she gets the best out of her young crew, the secret strengths of having ADHD and the leadership lessons that she distilled for her new book,To get here, she had to deal with the challenges of alcoholism, bankruptcy, hopelessness, a heart attack and cancer . Now sober almost 34 years, she adheres to a daily practice that keeps her centered.
At the same time, she’s grateful to have the chance to be a role model. “I want people to know who I used to be,” she says. “I want employers to know that you can invest in someone like me, they're going to be loyal.” She also wants young people to know that they should feel free to love whoever they love—she and girlfriend Leah Shafer have been together five years — and recognize that they don’t need a degree to achieve excellence. “Bravo created a show that told the world there’s a maritime industry that’s here for you if college isn’t your road to travel,” says Yawn, who plans to do an animated series for kids and funds programs through her charity to teach kids in high school about the industry.