Jennifer Sanchez, Intel's Arizona Community Affairs Manager, has joined the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board, which provides oversight for the Chandler Center for the Arts (CCA). The appointment was made by the City of Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke with the Board’s unanimous recommendation. Intel has a long relationship with Chandler Center for the Arts, with company employees serving on the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board since the Center's inception in 1989.

Sanchez joined the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board because, when she moved to Chandler, she immediately recognized the Center’s culturally relevant line-up representing artists from an array of backgrounds. With such a strong inclusive foundation, the CCA was a place she wanted to learn more about.

“The more I attended shows and met the people, I knew I wanted to serve on the Center’s board in hopes of advancing its efforts to become a community cornerstone for everyone and all families in the East Valley," she said. 

Sanchez is proud to be a product of at-hope, Title 1 public schools and a first-generation college graduate. While growing up, her parents didn’t have money for concerts, movies or the theater, but they traded their business services for piano and Ballet Folklorico lessons for their kids. Sanchez' introduction to the theater was attending a cultural performance on a free school field trip in grade school. 

Sanchez remembers as a kid always looking for Spanish surnames on books, movie credits and, later in college, in Broadway programs and brochures. It was rare to see. She hopes her tiny name in the Center’s brochure will catch the eye of her younger selves.

“I hope they feel represented,” Sanchez said. “As a board member, I want to support the Center’s legacy to make sure all our guests and our community feel welcome, seen and heard on our stage.”  

Throughout her education and career, Sanchez has sought to promote awareness and a greater understanding of all members in the community, by sharing the stories of underrepresented groups and giving them a voice. As a journalist for more than a decade, she received numerous national awards for her reporting which elevated awareness of issues facing immigrants and marginalized communities.

"After working in nonprofits, policy and national politics, I was recruited to try the corporate sector," Sanchez said. "At Intel, I've found roles that have allowed me to continue my passion for storytelling and private-public collaborations as well as develop amazing employee stories that amplify underrepresented voices and uplift people." 

Sanchez, was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and Arizona is the ninth state she calls home. She moved to Chandler in 2018 for Intel's Global Communications Group to support the company's Global Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact team. In late 2020, she joined the Arizona public affairs team.

Sanchez manages Intel's neighbor relations as it seeks to invest a $20 billion expansion project with building two new factories at its Ocotillo campus. She also manages Intel Arizona's PreK-12 educational strategic programs in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), including the recently announced Equity in STEAM Initiative, a new funding opportunity for educators and nonprofits working to increase the representation of minorities and women in STEAM.  

Sanchez earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Utah. As a National Hispana Leadership Institute Advancing Latina Leaders in Nonprofits (ALL IN) fellow, she received a Public & Nonprofit Leadership Certificate from Georgetown University. Sanchez also earned a bachelor’s degree in news and public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.