Doniece Sandoval

Nonprofit Founder and CNN Hero

Doniece considers her decades-long career a tapestry of unique experiences in far-flung fields, from tech and fashion to sports and the arts. Whether crafting a messaging strategy for a database company, building a brand for a Spanish fashion line, or coordinating engagement for the Olympic Torch Relay, she’s applied her creative lens, ingenuity, and ability to make things happen while leveraging her marketing, branding, and PR expertise to elevate the work.

Her proudest professional achievement was founding Lava Mae, an innovative mobile hygiene service for people experiencing homelessness. Over ten years, the organization touched the lives of 45,000 unhoused Californians and trained or inspired 200+ similar programs around the globe.

Doniece’s awards and honors include becoming a Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford University’s Haas Center, University of San Francisco Honorary Degree recipient, Nonprofit HR’s Women to Watch (2019), 2017 CNN Hero, 2017 James Irvine Foundation Leadership award, CA Assembly Woman of the Year (2017), and the KIND Foundation’s KIND People Award (2016).