Paula Sandoval

Sandoval is a lifelong resident of Colorado. Although she was born in Chicago, Illinois, she has spent nearly her entire life in Colorado. She attended the Denver public schools. She attained a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver.[3]

Sandoval and her husband, former state senator Paul Sandoval, started a small business, Tamales by La Casita, Inc. Between the two of them, they have been in business over twenty-five years. Today they have two locations and provide employment for eighteen different families.

Sandoval has a long history of public service. She serves on the Denver Welfare Reform Board, the Greenway Foundation, the Colorado State Historical Society, and the Colorado Commission of Aging. Most recently she was appointed as vice chair for the fiscal committee for the Council of State Government Western Region. Formerly she served on the board of governors for the Colorado State University System.

In the four years that Sandoval has served in the General Assembly, she has concentrated on social legislation and legislation to benefit children. Most notably she was the prime senate sponsor for the low-income energy assistance bill, the Kids First License Plate, the Healthy School Vending Bill, the High-Risk Alternative Education bill and the Colorado Schoolchildren's Asthma and Anaphylaxis Health Management Act.

She has received numerous awards including Legislator of the Year for the American Heart Association, Colorado Food Service Association and Colorado Association of Non-Profits. She also is a Gates Foundation Fellow to the Harvard JFK School of Government, State and Local Government Program, and a Henry Toll Fellow.