Sandra E. Timmons, President       

A life-long belief in the power of education and a commitment to helping young people realize their full potential culminated in Sandra E. Timmons becoming President of A Better Chance, the preeminent national resource for recruiting, identifying, and developing leaders among African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and Native American youth for more than 46 years.

A Better Chance’s historic signature program, the College Preparatory School Program, identifies, recruits, and annually places 500 academically talented students into 300 of the most rigorous and prestigious independent day schools, boarding schools and public schools in the country.  In addition to its affiliated network of schools, A Better Chance constituents include 65 colleges and universities, 1,900 scholars in grades 6 through 12, and more than 12,000 alumni.

Since taking the helm in 2003, Sandra has significantly strengthened the organization’s infrastructure to increase the number of students its serves and enrich the overall A Better Chance experience.    She has reaffirmed and invigorated relationships with member schools, accelerated fund development efforts and heightened A Better Chance’s visibility in many communities.

Prior to joining A Better Chance, Sandra was Chief Operating Officer of Girls Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowered girls and an equitable society.   During her tenure, she authored a strategic plan to expand educational programs that addressed science, math, technology, leadership, self-defense, media literacy, money management, health and sexuality for girls ages 6 to 18.  She also managed the program development, research, training, information technology, national services and human resources departments and served as the organization’s interim President.

Before that, Sandra served as the Chief of Staff at the College Board in New York City, where she managed the president’s office operations and led various policy and project implementations.   She also held management positions at Honeywell. 

Her professional background has been enriched through a broad range of volunteer work with community, professional, and religious organizations. 

Sandra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Science degree in Public Policy Analysis and Management with a concentration in Finance from Carnegie-Mellon University.