Buendía Consulting Srvcs

Our lifestyle coach, LaWanda Buendía, is not only a survivor of childhood sexual and domestic violence, but she is a mentor for victims of abuse. Currently, she is attending Northcentral University as a Ph.D. student majoring in gender fluidity and sexual orientation. She provides transformational coaching to those within the LGBTQ+ groups while being a DV & SV advocate.

She worked with the district attorney’s office in various locations in West Tennessee, police officers, and court officials to aid victims of domestic and sexual assault or abuse. Her experiences in being a DV & SV Advocate include the following roles: facilitating group discussions on domestic violence, providing one-on-one counseling, giving presentations on domestic and sexual violence to community organizations, attending round-table talks affecting the community, and being a guest speaker on several survival panels for the Dyersburg Police Academy in Dyersburg, Tennessee. She also spoke to a large gathering of college students at a Lane College event.

Her training included courses and conferences on domestic and sexual violence for her Court Advocate position with the Women's Resource & Rape Assistance Program. Later, through an economic grant, her duties increased to include utility and housing assistance to individuals or families affected by financial hardship within Gibson and Haywood County, Tennessee.

Her dedication to people regardless of their background, gender, and sexual orientation afforded her to be one of two Tennessee statewide awards recipients to travel free of charge to California to attend a week-long domestic violence conference that focused on advocating for individuals who were a part of the LGBTQI+ communities. She continues to support those who have experienced the trauma of sexual and domestic abuse, emotional and economic abuse, neglect, bullying and cyberbullying, financial hardship, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation. As a transformational coach, she hopes to shed light on the previously mentioned areas, including suicide prevention.