We had the good fortune of connecting with Yhanni Durdin- James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yhanni, what do you attribute your success to?
Courage. When you start to get scared, you’ll know you’re just getting started!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Sovern is a community space that centers the healing of women and non-binary individuals of color. I got here by consistently doing what I felt called to do. I have learned so many lessons. Each day is a lesson– the biggest one being that my healing is directly connected to the community’s healing and vice versa. Sovern is here to rebuild community in an area that’s being quickly gentrified. It is here to TAKE UP SPACE for women of color so their needs are not erased again.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, we’d stop at Sovern to look at the incredible mural by Antonina Clarke. Next we’d walk across the street and grab Tacos from Bee’s Taqueria. We’d most likely stop to shop at Persona, also on West Adams Blvd and just a short walk away. We’d end our afternoon doing a tasting at West Adams Wine.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
my co-founder Nicole, Nicole@sovern.la

Website: www.sovern.la

Instagram: @sovern.la

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yhanni-durdin-james-86a1bb15a/

Facebook: https://fb.me/Sovern.la

Image Credits
Ashley Randall

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.