Sandy Garossino: Collaborative. Pragmatic. Effective.
Sandy was born in Vancouver and received her university education here. She obtained a BA from SFU and an LLB from UBC. She practiced law as a Crown prosecutor for a number of years, with special emphasis on youth crime and gangs. Her knowledge of organized crime and its patterns informed her later opposition to the expansion of a casino in downtown Vancouver.
Garossino and her brother thereafter assumed the ownership and management of the family business, operating 3 Metro Vancouver taxi companies. Comprising one of the largest privately held taxi fleets in Canada at the time, the 3 operations provided employment for approximately 250 people.
Since the sale of those businesses she has been active in private investments and incubating businesses, as well as taking time out as a full-time mom. Garossino is founder and CEO of Intellex Legal Project Management Inc., a recent startup company that employs technology innovations and contracted services to drive down legal costs.
Garossino sits on the SFU India Advisory Council and has ties to UBC’s Asia strategy through her support for the Institute for Asian Research. The objective of both universities is to develop closer links with Asia and attract more graduate students from India’s legendary IIT’s. Sandy sits on the Advisory Council of the Indian Summer Festival of Arts and Ideas, the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, and sits on the Patrons Circle of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. She and her husband also support a school in India.
Founding House of Parlance Media in 2006, Garossino published, fostered and promoted the young poet Shane Koyczan, bringing him to the world stage as he appeared at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games. She and her partner also partnered with Nettwerk Music Group. They produced graphic novels for hard copy and took a pioneering role in creating content for global digital downloads to mobile devices.
Past board memberships include the Vancouver International Writers Festival, the Public Dreams Society (which produces Illuminares and the Parade of Lost Souls), the Alliance for Arts and Culture, and the Vancouver Biennale, which Garossino co-chaired. She chaired the Alliance for Arts’ Advocacy Task Force, and served as a volunteer consultant for the BC Association for Charitable Gaming, which represents the interests of thousands of BC charities and non-profits affected by provincial gaming grant policy.
Garossino’s long record of service to the charitable and non-profit community led her to co-found the Vancouver Not Vegas Coalition, successfully opposing the expansion of Edgewater Casino on the BC Place site.
Sandy has a blended family of 5 grown children with her husband Ravi Sidhoo, whose grandfather was one of the pioneer Sikh immigrants to British Columbia early in the 20th century.
