UCF Alumna Founds Cultural Competency Company

Tegan Sabatier and Michael Johnson, Dean of the College of Sciences.

Tegan Sabatier, ’08 is chief executive officer of her own cultural competency consulting business, a University of Central Florida alumna and the Department of Anthropology’s 2017 Outstanding AlumKnight.

Sabatier was honored with the award on March 2, 2017 at the College of Sciences’ annual Outstanding AlumKnight ceremony. The Department of Anthropology nominated the alumna to represent the department based on her achievements.

Sabatier started the company Cultural Candor in 2014. The organization is a cultural training and consulting firm located in Cocoa Beach, Florida.  Cultural Candor provides personalized cultural training programs and cultural consulting to a vast array of organizations.

Sabatier founded Cultural Candor after noticing a lack of customized options in the field of cultural training.

“I felt like company after company was investing in, and receiving, training that did not fully address each company’s unique needs,” Sabatier said. “So, I decided to found a company that would pinpoint each customer’s end goals, understand what the customer wanted to achieve, and, by using varying statistical research and analysis methods, develop a fully customized training program that would help companies see a significant increase in levels of cultural competency.”

Sabatier’s interest in cultural anthropology was solidified while studying at UCF.  She graduated from UCF in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, then went on to receive a master’s degree in intercultural communication in France while living abroad.

Sabatier’s mother and father are both UCF alumni. Her mother graduated with the charter class of 1970 and went on to serve as a communications professor in the early days of UCF.  When the time came for Sabatier to choose her college, it was an easy decision. She was drawn to the school not only because of her familial ties, but also because of the anthropology program itself.

“I think UCF has one of the best anthropology programs in the entire country,” Sabatier said. “I learned so much during my time at UCF and found all my classes fascinating. The anthropological education gave me such a solid foundation for starting not only my career, but also my company. The professors in the Department of Anthropology made a lasting impact on me and on what Cultural Candor has, thankfully, grown to be.”

Cultural Candor helps businesses significantly increase profit margin, productivity and competitive market advantage by improving each client’s level of cultural competency. Cultural Candor is honored to be listed on the U.S. Department of State’s website as a recommended cultural training and consulting organization.

Sabatier is very thankful that she is able to do what she loves every day and help others in the process, which was her ultimate goal when starting the company. Her favorite part of the job is solving problems for her clients.

“Companies come to us, sometimes in crises mode, knowing there is a cultural problem but not truly able to both identify and mitigate it,” Sabatier said. “We often follow up with companies after they use our services. We can see, first hand, the positive changes our clients have experienced and also how much they have improved profit wise. It’s one of the best feelings.”

Sabatier advises current college students to remember that learning never ceases. “Everything and everyone we encounter on a daily basis has something new to teach us, whether it be about our world or ourselves,” Sabatier said. “The smallest piece of knowledge given to you today can make all the difference in your life tomorrow.”