About

“If I can’t dance, I don’t want
to be a part of the revolution.”
—Emma Goldman

I hail from New York but have called Albuquerque, New Mexico, home since 2002. I am guided by a deep commitment to advance social justice, rooted in my Jewish identity and many years working with grassroots activists fighting to transform systems that marginalize and limit the potential of people and their communities. For the last 20 plus years, I have worked in and with community-based organizations advancing the rights of women, immigrants and poor people, in New Mexico, New York and Mexico. I started Sandra Ortsman LLC in 2015 to support nonprofits and philanthropic organizations to design, fund, implement and uplift initiatives that are strategic and transformative. I have master’s degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and am bilingual in English and Spanish. I am proud to serve as the President of the Board of Encuentro, an immigrants’ rights organization providing leadership development opportunities through adult education and workforce development. I am also a 2019-2021 W.K.K.F. Community Leadership Network fellow and a 2009-2010 Robert Wood Johnson Ladder to Leadership fellow. In my free time, you may find me training for a half-marathon, hanging out with my husband Tim and our beloved children Jonah and Lilliana, or hosting a dinner party. If you are committed to justice and have an idea that needs strategic support, refinement or funding to come to fruition, reach out and let’s see what we can do together.