Senator Sandra Cano

Sandra Cano is a Democrat representing District 8 (Pawtucket) in the Rhode Island Senate. She is chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education and a member of the Senate Committee on Finance.

She was elected to the Pawtucket School Committee in 2012 as the top vote-getter and the first Latina ever elected in the whole city. She was then elected as the first Latina Pawtucket City Councilor in November 2014 and reelected in 2016. She won a special election for Senate District 8 in April 2017.

In the General Assembly, Sen. Cano has advanced legislation in a range of policy areas, including education, children and families, economic development, and health care. She has sponsored the Trauma Informed Schools Act, the RI Child Care is Essential Act, and legislation ensuring in-state tuition for Rhode Island students regardless of their immigration status, among other bills.

Sen. Cano was born in Medellin, Colombia, and moved to the United States with her family in 2000. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Economics at Bryant University in 2007. She completed a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the University of Rhode Island in 2012 then went to Harvard Kennedy School where she completed executive leadership programs in 2016.

Sen. Cano serves as commerce director for the city of Pawtucket. She previously worked as assistant vice president of business and community development at Navigant Credit Union.