Sandra Rodriguez was born and raised in California and is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia, South America. She has over a decade of experience in restorative justice that includes work in process facilitation, community organizing, training/technical assistance and program development. Prior to joining the Ahimsa Collective, she spent over six years with the RJ Project (formerly at Impact Justice and now at Equal Justice USA), where she assisted community-based organizations around the country in the implementation of RJ diversion programs. From her current role at Ahimsa, she continues to function as a key partner on local and national initiatives focusing on RJ research, advocacy, policy development, and coalition building. At the core of all her work is the desire for BIPOC communities to reclaim, increase and sustain their power to heal, to dismantle systems of oppression and to build life-giving ways of being, so that future generations see liberation not as a dream or a goal, but as a lived reality.  Sandra lives near the Russian River in Northern California and finds joy and love everyday in her partner, two dogs, two cats and gecko.