Sandra Braham is the Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA El Paso del Norte Region. With almost 600 employees, an annual budget of more than $30 million, and a $7 million Foundation, the El Paso YWCA is one of largest, most complex in the nation. She is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to becoming CEO of the YWCA, Sandra was employed for 14 years as an administrator at UTEP, where she wrote grants and established numerous programs to assist low-income youth in preparing for, accessing, and succeeding college. She has been a role model for many, having overcome significant obstacles in her life and is a passionate speaker on recognizing and acting on life’s opportunities.

Sandra has received numerous honors for her commitment to improving the lives of others, including the February 2009 “Adelante con Ganas” Award presented by Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh, the 2009 Present Civil Rights Award from the City of El Paso Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee, a 2008 Humanitarian Award from LULAC Project Amistad for the work of the YWCA, Proclamations from the Texas Senate in 2002 and 2009, the 2002 Civil Rights Award from the El Paso NAACP, the YWCA Reach Award, Business Associate of the Year from the American Business Women’s Association, and recognition in the book African American Achievers Making History on the Border in El Paso, Texas. Sandra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a Doctorate in Education from UTEP. She is married and is the mother of three children, ages 16, 13, and 11 years.