Sandra started her nursing career at the Detroit Medical Center as a critical care Registered Nurse (RN) after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

Sandra obtained her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Master of Arts in Healthcare Administration while continuing her career as the Director of Transplant Services at the University of Michigan prior to focusing on her role in nursing academia.

During her PhD studies, Sandra conducted research on the impact of nurses’ transcultural self-efficacy on patient experience scores among patient aggregates of various cultural backgrounds.

Sandra is passionate about promoting a collaborative and inclusive culture that values diverse workforces, encouraging flexibility to embrace evolving challenges and exciting changes. She has held multiple academic positions throughout her career, ultimately leading her to WGU as the Department Chair of the RN – BSN and RN – MSN Programs.

Sandra has a wealth of experience leading Purdue University Global’s Master of Healthcare Administration program toward accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), led course and curriculum revisions at Purdue and has been actively involved in course revisions and process optimizations in both the Prelicensure and RN-to-BSN/MSN programs at WGU.  Her teaching philosophy focuses on the development of learners to the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy by fostering a positive, safe learning environment and individualizing approaches in education to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Sandra’s true passion is relating all she does back to the community. She always reminds faculty, nurses, and students she mentors that everything they teach and model in the art and science of nursing will ultimately impact the patients served.