Years ago, a PhD student in Atlanta reached out to Sandra Crespo with a request: Would she speak on mental health and policing?

It was a small ask. Crespo said yes, and it set the tone for the rest of her career as a speaker.

“He likely has no idea that one request opened a door I’ve been walking through ever since,” Crespo, the CEO and founder of Unalome Consulting Group and speaker at this year’s AFROTECH™ Conference, told us. “That’s part of what stays with me, because it means the people who shape us most profoundly often never see the full weight of what they set in motion.”

Why Does She Still Say Yes to the Small Asks?

That one invitation is why Crespo makes room for people without a big platform or an established name behind them: students, early career practitioners and people organizing something for the first time.

“I remember being on the other side of that ask, and I know I wouldn’t be here without someone extending that kind of trust to me,” she said. “Pouring into others now means treating every invitation, no matter how small it looks on paper, as a potential turning point for someone else, the same way that one invitation turned out to be for me.”

A Different Season at AFROTECH™

Crespo spoke at AFROTECH™ Conference last year, when she was more than 25 speaking engagements deep.

“I was in grind season,” she said, “moving at a pace that left very little room to actually feel the impact of what I was building.”

She returns to AFROTECH™ 2026 in Houston saying yes much less often, now that she’s deep in her doctoral research. She said she accepts only what fits the direction she’s moving in.

“Growth for me was never going to be measured by how much I could take on, it was going to be measured by how much I could finally trust myself to turn things down,” Crespo said.

What She Wants Attendees to Take Home

Crespo’s message for the AFROTECH™ audience is about what happens after the applause.

“Being seen in spaces like this is not the same as being protected, paid, or promoted once you leave it,” she said.

She wants attendees asking harder questions of the places where they’re betting on themselves, including who holds power there and whether those spaces will fund what they say they value.

“Believe in yourself, and expect proof, not just applause, from every system that claims to believe in you too,” she said.

Buy Your Ticket Today

AFROTECH™ turns 10 this year, and you’ll want to be in the room for it. From the future of work to tech for good, this is where the ideas and the people driving them come together. Get your tickets now for Nov. 2-5, 2026, in Houston, TX!