Sandra grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and earned her B.A. in English Literature and French from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her MSW from State University of New York at Stony Brook University. Upon graduating from Stony Brook, she received the graduate student achievement award through the SUNY Research Foundation/New York State Addiction Training Center for her interest and training in work with addicts and their families. After completing her graduate degree, she began her clinical work and post-Masters training with a focus on systemic treatment of substance abuse and as a family therapist in Long Island, NY. In 1998, Sandra and her husband Jon relocated to the Los Angeles area, and she obtained her Clinical License in the state of CA.  Sandra worked for several years as an outpatient therapist in an adult clinic in South Central Los Angeles, before joining the staff of Harbor UCLA Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry in 2001. She worked for six years in the psychiatric inpatient unit as a clinician and as a clinical Field Instructor for Social Work Practicum students before transitioning back to outpatient where she currently continues as the Clinical Program Head over all the Adult and Child Mental Health Programs at Harbor UCLA. Her husband Jon is also a clinician and has a private practice for many years in the Los Angeles area focusing on working with couples and families.  Sandra and Jon’s family is an incredibly important focus for Sandra. She loves travel and the outdoors, especially the ocean. She enjoys running and hopes to someday complete a marathon. Sandra and Jon’s younger daughter Ollie graduated from Oliverian in the class of 2023 and is currently a freshman at Plymouth State University where she is a collegiate swimmer and is majoring in Adventure Education. Their older daughter Kate is a senior at UC Santa Cruz, also a collegiate swimmer, and has a double major of Legal Studies and Psychology.

What do you love most about Oliverian?
What I love and value most about Oliverian are the remarkable staff and faculty and the connections and relationships they build with the students and their families. I believe that part of the secret sauce of Oliverian is the power and meaning of these connections. The staff, employees, and board members show up with genuine caring, curiosity, and focus along with a deep commitment to working with and supporting the students and their families.