Home

Sandra is a twice-married mother of two beautiful daughters and a proud grandmother. Her creative journey began in elementary school, writing poems, plays, and a graphic novel. She loved drawing clothes, attended art classes at the Carnegie Museum, and took her first photos with a Brownie Bullet camera.

Sandra started working in high school as a cashier and office clerk. After graduation, she held jobs at Alcoa, U.S. Steel, TWA, and a law office. While raising her children, she typed at the Poison Control Center, a TV station, and a steel mill—earning a Bachelor’s in Media Communications and a Master’s in Creative Writing. Later, with support from the Trade Readjustment Act, Sandra earned a Photography Degree and freelanced as a photo-essayist.

Inspired while working at Jones & Laughlin Steel, Sandra began Steel Genesis, a photo-memoir. She later founded Shooting Star Productions, wrote Faraday’s Popcorn Factory, and launched a jail writing program now called Words Without Walls. Sandra continues teaching and sharing stories that lift hearts and humanity.