Meeting Speaker for June 16, 2012 - Sandy Kirschenmann

Sandra Kirschenmann
Associate Vice Provost
Drexel University, Sacramento Center for Graduate Studies

Sandra (Sandy) Kirschenmann is an education administration professional with deep roots in the Sacramento region. She has thirty years of experience in higher education, having held management positions at Cosumnes River College, the Los Rios Business and Economic Development Center, the statewide Community College Economic Development Program, and the Los Rios Community College District Office and Foundation. Prior to becoming the Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Drexel University's Sacramento Center for Graduate studies, she served the Vice Chancellor of Resource Development for the Los Rios Community College District. Her faculty experience includes the lead faculty role at American River College in the Oak Café and Culinary Arts program, lead faculty for the Foodservice Management Program at Cosumnes River College, and work as an adjunct professor in the Benerd School of Education at the University of the Pacific.

Sandy received her Baccalaureate and Master's degrees from the University of California, Davis. Her doctoral degree in Educational Administration and Foundations was granted by the University of the Pacific. She served as an officer in the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC and at Silas B. Hays Army Hospital at Fort Ord, California.

In addition to her work in education, Sandy managed the family wine grape growing business, Kirschenmann Vineyards, in Lodi producing grapes for award-winning Tempranillo and Zinfandel wines. She has been a Commissioner on the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, has chaired the Workforce and Education Committee of the Chamber, and the Chamber study mission to Vancouver, British Columbia. She was named by the Sacramento Business Journal as a "Woman Who Means Business" in 2011. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, District VII and serves on the California Aerospace Museum Strategic Planning Council.