Sandra has served as the Division Chief for Lee County Public Safety – Emergency Management in SWFL since January 2021 –the first woman to hold this position for Lee County. She also served as the Incident Commander of the Lee County Emergency Operations Center during the preparation and response to Hurricane Ian, one of the most destructive landfalling hurricanes to hit Florida. Under her leadership, Sandra’s team worked diligently to stabilize the impacted community, and successfully manage the awe-inspiring response from partner agencies and state-wide Emergency Management colleagues.

Sandra’s other hurricane experiences include Hurricane Irma in 2017, where she led the Lee County EOC Operations Section, and her team successfully managed one of the largest shelter operations in Florida’s history sheltering over 35,000 people and 3,600 pets. She was then deployed in 2018 to the Florida Panhandle in response to Hurricane Michael to serve as the Human Services Branch Director for the Bay County EOC.

In 2020, Sandra served as the Lee County Animal Services Director and prior to that, she was the Operations Chief for Lee County Emergency Management since 2012. Before coming to Lee County, Sandra worked for seven years as an emergency management consultant for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  She also worked as a human rights intern for President Jimmy Carter at the Atlanta-based Carter Center.