For women in the trades
I spent 27+ years in the trades and supervised crews of 102+ tradespeople. I coach women in the trades to stop letting the environment define them.
The four patterns
You know it. You just don't speak up, in case somebody tries to explain it back to you or prove you wrong. Ask you directly and you'll answer, then you brush it off.
What it costs you: the guy who repeats your answer thirty seconds later walks out with the credit.
Nothing's going to change. Shrug your shoulders. This is what it's going to be, I'm here to get my money, that's it.
What it costs you: twenty years of letting it go builds a reputation you never once chose.
First one in. Last one out. You catch what the whole crew missed, and you catch it every time.
What it costs you: same check as the guy doing half the work. Nobody is going to hand you the difference.
New crew. New foreman. New job. Every single time you start back at zero, so you go get another certification and prove yourself all over again.
What it costs you: twenty-five years in the trade and you're still auditioning for a seat you already earned.
The job's going sideways and you know the fix. What happens in your head in that moment tells you which pattern is running the show.
Your pattern comes straight to your inbox.
Add your first name and a good email so I can send it.
Your pattern is on its way. Every result points to the same place: the Anchored Authority.
"Even though our trials may come and we have had challenges, we are bigger than that."
Samantha Kaye HarrisAbout Samantha
Growing up, she wanted to be a teacher or a therapist.
She started out working with and assisting mechanics. She grew into a lead, then a supervisor with her own units of tradespeople, and went on to supervise crews of 102+ tradespeople across multiple trades. She loved the work. The asphalt, the concrete, watching infrastructure get built, the banter with her union brothers on the crew. She stayed for the love of the work, not just the money and the benefits. Union strong.
As a supervisor, she brought women in and trained them. Every woman who worked for her went on to become a mechanic or a supervisor. About 85% of the tradespeople who came up through her unit moved into higher positions. She received the MLK Jr. Leadership Award for her leadership, and she retired in April 2026.
She also saw what the job does to women who are good at it. Talked over. Passed over. Handed the word "resilient" instead of help.
Today she's the Power, Voice & Self-Trust authority for women in the trades. She works with tradeswomen who are staying, who are skilled, and who are done being dismissed, so they trust themselves, use their voice, and stand strong on their own terms... on the job and off it.
Samantha is the Founder and CEO of SKH Solutions LLC, the author of Your TRUTH Changes Everything: How Tradeswomen Stay Confident and Live Fully On and Off the Job, and the host of the Rooted in Your Confidence podcast. She speaks to tradeswomen and to the employers, unions and HR teams who want to keep the women they hired. She also founded the Skilled Hands Foundation, a nonprofit that helps women get into the trades through hands-on skills training, union and apprenticeship connections, and mindset work.
She lives in New Jersey.
From the field to supervisor · 27+ years
Coaching
The book · Out now
How Tradeswomen Stay Confident and Live Fully On and Off the Job
Marylynn Lawrence · Marc Williams · Mary N Glover · Stephanie Dean · Shevon Maxwell · Cotea Jones · Kerry Griffin · Earlyne Alexander · Kelsey Bowen · Raven Andrews · Kim Baum · Cheryl Harris · Erin Hines · Samuel H Harris · Jalisa Pressley · Teresa E McGriff · Jennifer Garcia · Hallie Brevetti
What women say
Meeting with Samantha was exactly what I needed and at the right time! Our conversation was grounding, affirming, and deeply practical. She has a powerful way of naming what so many women experience in male dominated spaces without minimizing it or sugarcoating it. What stood out most was her reframing of confidence, not as something we lack, but as something that gets disrupted by systems, leadership, and environments that were not built for us. That perspective alone shifted how I am preparing for an upcoming performance evaluation and how I am advocating for myself! She offered concrete strategies, especially around documenting accomplishments and anchoring yourself in your value, while also holding space for the emotional weight that comes with navigating these environments as a Black woman. I left the conversation clearer, more confident, and with a real game plan. If you are a woman navigating leadership, especially in spaces where you are the first or the only, Samantha’s voice and work are invaluable.
For companies
I worked in the trades for 27+ years. I supervised crews of 102+ tradespeople. I know the women working for you, the ones leaving and the ones staying unhappy and going to HR.
I come in and assess both sides... leadership and the women. I sit with your women and get their real fears, what's actually happening on the job site that leadership doesn't see. I take that data back and run a SWOT with leadership and the women. Then I show leadership what will make your women stay, what's making them leave, and what it's costing you.
You keep the skilled women you already invested in. You stop losing the money and time it takes to replace them. You get a crew that's seen, shown up for, and invested in... and a more productive company.
Not in the trades? I coach regular people too.
If you are a woman who knows her job and still gets questioned about it, this class is for you. Doesn't matter if you're on a site, on a shop floor, or in a plant.
REGISTER NOW
