From left, Sonia Palma, Mayor Mike McGinn, Sandra Madrid and her husband, Toby Gonzales (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
By Assunta Ng
I met Sandra Madrid more than 20 years ago. She inspired me in so many ways. The number one thing you notice about Sandra is that she always smiles.
Sandra’s signature is marked with giggles and laughter. Her girlish giggling is distinct. You can hear her laughter from miles away. She is a fun person to be around and a great leader to work with. She is exuberant and lives life to the fullest. Nothing really worries Sandra. She is gracious and forgiving, and holds no grudges.
Sandra also mentors a lot of people — men and women — Latino, whites, blacks and Asians. When Sandra was the assistant law dean at the University of Washington, her assistant was a male. What better way to nurture men when they can learn from their female bosses directly! She also mentors the first Asian American law dean of the country, Wallace Loh, who was law dean at the UW. She helped him to implement changes at the law school. Now, he is the president of the University of Maryland.
Thank you for all the work you have done. (end)