Working Class to Breaking Glass
One Woman’s Fight to Belong and to Lead
By Wanda J. Herndon
She shattered ceilings so others could soar.
From the factory-worker neighbourhoods of Flint, Michigan to the executive boardrooms of Starbucks, Wanda J. Herndon’s Working Class to Breaking Glass is a riveting and inspiring memoir about determination, leadership, and breaking barriers.
Born into a working-class Black family who left the segregated South in search of a better life, Herndon learned early that success meant resilience, hard work, and faith in her own potential. From scraping together ten dollars to apply to college to becoming senior vice president of global communications at Starbucks, she defied the odds stacked against her—race, gender, class—to claim a seat at the table and help shape one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
With candour and warmth, Herndon shares the personal and professional battles behind her ascent: navigating systemic bias, confronting imposter syndrome, and redefining what leadership looks like for women of colour in corporate America. Her journey is not just a story of triumph, but a roadmap for anyone striving to rise, to lead, and to belong.
Powerful and authentic, Working Class to Breaking Glass reminds readers that success isn’t about where you start—it’s about how fiercely you believe you belong.
I had risen: a daughter of the Great Migration who never forgot the kitchen table on which I devoured my mother’s delicious Southern meals—the same table on which my father’s elbows rested between eating and delivering life lessons. I remembered. I remembered. I remembered.
— Wanda J. Herndon, Working Class to Breaking Glass
About Wanda
Wanda J. Herndon is an award-winning expert and trailblazer in the field of public relations and corporate communications. She was the first senior vice president of global communications for Starbucks Coffee Company, from 1995 to 2006, and again in 2008. During her tenure, she helped the company grow from 550 stores to over 15,000 stores spanning five continents.
In 2006, Wanda founded W Communications, a consulting firm that provides strategic communications counsel and strategy development and execution. She pursues her passion for the arts as a Broadway producer and investor in award-winning musical theatre productions such as Memphis: The Musical and Come from Away. She is also a published poet and co-author of the anthology Writing While Masked: Reflections on 2020 and Beyond.
Wanda loves travelling the world to experience new places, people, and things. She relaxes by reading or socializing with friends, and she is an avid walker and exercise enthusiast. One of her guilty pleasures is devouring yummy treats while binge-watching TV series in the comfort of her Seattle home.
I hope that individuals will learn from my story of hope, perseverance, and success, and that the lessons I share will assist them in reaching their goals in life and at work.
— Wanda J. Herndon
Available in paperback and ebook
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