About Us

Sandra Gasca-Gonzalez is the vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Systems Innovation, where she oversees national and state reform efforts in three key areas: child welfare, young people transitioning into adulthood, and juvenile justice. Prior to assuming this role in 2018, Sandra served as the director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. She previously served as executive vice president of Practice and Leadership Integration for KVC Health Systems, where she led nationally recognized initiatives to transform child welfare systems with clinical best practices, change management skills and results-based measurement. Before that, she was on assignment from KVC to one of the most embattled public child welfare systems in the U.S. – the Washington, D.C., Child and Family Services Agency – where she helped implement best practices and championed a culture shift. This work led to remarkable outcomes for D.C. children and families, including sharp reductions in the length of time children spent in foster care and dramatic increases in the number of children being placed with families. Additionally, Sandra has served as president of KVC Nebraska and worked for Youthville (now EmberHope), where she led the implementation of child welfare privatization for the South Central area of Kansas. As an alumna of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Fellowship program, Sandra also is a graduate of the National Hispanic Leadership Institute, a recipient of an Executive Leadership Certificate from Harvard University, and has been recognized by business journals in two states as a “40 Under 40” leader. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from Emporia State University and a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern College.