Sandy Hughes O’Brien

Sandy is a wife, mother, lawyer and accidental politician trying to raise three well-adjusted children to be socially conscious little humans. A Latina of Mexican and Irish descent. Sandy presents her take on life, the law and a little politics with a touch of Latina attitude!

She is the first person of Latino heritage to be elected statewide (Michigan) to the Wayne State University Board of Governors (Detroit, MI).  Sandy is a passionate public servant devoted to her family, her Latino heritage, the practice of law, and to helping our traditionally underrepresented students in every way possible.

She was elected to serve an eight-year term on Wayne State’s Board of Governors on Nov. 6, 2012, ranking among the top in votes received statewide with a total of 2,198,288. Since taking office, she has fought for a tuition equity policy for undocumented Michigan students; worked to improve admissions standards to achieve a more representative student body, and successfully helped work to hire a new university president who would be fully committed to diversity and WSU’s historic urban mission.

Sandy is a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences related to education, empowerment and inclusion. She serves on numerous community boards and committees.

Beyond that, she has another great love: Baseball.  Especially, that is, her all-time favorite players, former Detroit Tiger, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and today’s Miguel Cabrera. When not at the university or the ballpark, Sandy is a practicing lawyer. She is an active member of the bar and several professional organizations and speaks frequently on the topic of women minorities in law careers.

She is a self-proclaimed “political junkie” who currently serves as 4^th Vice Chair to the Michigan Democratic Party. She is a graduate of the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University (J.D., cum laude, 1998) and received her undergraduate degree from Grand Valley State University.

Sandy grew up in West Michigan and now resides in Northville, a suburb of Detroit, with her husband and their three children, Faelan, Fiona, and Rory; and their dog, Lola.