Sandra Ellen Smith (Sandi) was born in California and grew up across the West. Her harrowing, nomadic childhood included living in a shack without electricity or running water. She put herself through college at University of California Los Angeles and law school at University of Southern California, becoming the director of litigation for Apple Computer in 1998. She raised two biological children and, after moving to the Washington, DC, suburbs, opened her home and her heart to eight more. While in the DC area, she spent years representing domestic abuse survivors and their children, including as a Guardian Ad Litem in the DC Superior Court. She has also been actively involved on the boards of multiple academic, public, and nonprofit institutions. Today, Sandi lives in rural Colorado with her two dogs, Twelve and Thor. She is an attorney in private practice and president of her regional fire board. Her large, loving family visits her often.