Canal Alliance board member works to help immigrants break down barriers

Belvedere resident and technical scientist Krystal Sandza has for the past four years served on the board of directors of the San Rafael-based Canal Alliance, a nonprofit that provides legal services, education and career programs and social services to help Hispanic immigrants and their families overcome barriers to success. (Elliot Karlan / For The Ark)

Krystal Sandza began volunteering with the Canal Alliance as a tutor, providing homework help to three girls as they completed the seventh and eighth grades.

After witnessing how effective she was, Canal Alliance CEO Omar Carrera says, he recruited Sandza to serve on the board of the organization, which offers legal services, education and career programs and social services to help Latino immigrants and their families overcome barriers to success. “Krystal has a commitment to social justice,” Carrera says, noting the Belvedere resident, 38, is one of the board’s youngest members. “I saw her potential to impact the community with her position.”

Sandza, a technical scientist who is of Puerto Rican heritage, has now been serving on the board for four years, and is currently chairing its advocacy and policy committee. She says she’s passionate about breaking the generational cycle of poverty for immigrants and their families.

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