Sandra’s background is in big, challenging organizational transformational projects and programs. Sandra’s approach is trans-disciplinary and blends: deep listening and observation skills; systems thinking; cognitive psychology; ethnographic understandings; social anthropology and adult learning. She has extensive experience with ‘culture shaping’ projects and programs across a range of sectors.
Sandra began her career in change design working with small businesses to create a culture of customer service. From there, she moved into Provincial Public Service where over a period of eight years, she worked for every ministry in a series of roles all related to organizational change and transformation. Quickly adopting an interest in organizational and systemic culture, Sandra explored the ways to shift team’s ways of working through leadership development programs, process improvement methodologies, and traditional consulting practices. Roles and projects were diverse -some were small in nature with organization wide impacts, others broad and complex. In 2014, Sandra took on the role of Director, Change Management Office, Natural Resource Sector Transformation Secretariat where she led the design and development of a a team of change professionals to support a multi-million dollar, multi-year transformation initiative spanning the Natural Resource Sector.
By 2016, Sandra was ready to shift her focus and bring her learnings to the international public service sphere with the United Nations. Continuing to explore the culture space, Sandra then joined an independent boutique consultancy specializing in Collaborative Design. Working on projects all over the world in public, private and not for profit environments and in many different sectors, Sandra leveraged her skills in change by supporting thousands of people to design their own collaborative change experience.
Today, Sandra co-leads Openfield – a collective she co-founded with a long time colleague and friend. Sandra advised, consults and design for systemic change programs and complex strategic transformation to helps individuals, groups and organizations deal create space for new possibilities to emerge, so that together we can solve problems bigger than ourselves. Sandra continues to build her expertise in change design and along with her business partner and co-lead Philippe Coullomb, is focusing on exploring the space between climate change, education, and first nations rights in systems around the world.