Deborah ‘Sankofa’ Talley is an educator, author, and creator of reflective tools for women and children. Her identity as an educator extends beyond any particular position or job title. She holds a master’s degree in education, taught in California classrooms, and worked as a corporate job-skills trainer. Across these roles, she has helped people recognize their strengths, examine what is true, and make intentional choices.

Maps and Lanterns began taking shape before 2008. In 2008, Sankofa began using the name in business, giving an established identity to work that had already been developing. Today, Maps and Lanterns reflects a clear emphasis on agency, boundaries, discernment, and quiet, truthful reflection.

Through Maps and Lanterns, Sankofa aims to assist individuals in honoring their inherent gifts, operating in strength, and intentionally choosing actions that can improve outcomes. She develops guided journals, practical resources, and weekly Lantern Letters that invite people to see more clearly, reflect honestly, and determine what they will choose next.

Sankofa’s Christian faith shapes both her life and her work. Her guiding purpose is to love God and to love her neighbor as herself. She approaches reflection as a means of greater clarity, not as therapy, diagnosis, or a substitute for professional care.

Now living in South Africa with her husband, Ron, Sankofa continues to educate, write, and create resources that encourage thoughtful engagement with faith, responsibility, identity, and purposeful living.

This principle remains at the heart of her work: the map shows what is, and the lantern guides what comes next.