Lisa Sandoval

I was born in Fremont, California. I am married and have a son, aged 11 months. I was an avid ballet dancer and went to Goucher College in Maryland to pursue dance. There, I also continued my study of French and studied abroad in France, where I decided to stop dancing due to back pain, and subsequently graduated with a degree in French in 2010. I traveled to Syria to learn Arabic and then returned and worked in fundraising administration in institutions of higher education for several years as well as various odd jobs, living mostly in San Francisco. I chose to attend the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and pursue a degree in public administration in order to set me on the path towards a meaningful career and to continue my studies of Arabic. My life has been characterized by suffering from, seeking to understand, and learning to heal from trauma, my family’s and my own.  This is what has led me to pursue in-depth experiences of various healing modalities and activities and has motivated me to study trauma healing as part of conflict resolution.