Sandra Lorena Aleman Nijjar, born in El Salvador, founded the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on September 14, 2016. Sandra loves working with grassroots community organizing and activism work, and to name a few of the efforts, Sandra is a part of Ward 1 democratic committee, is a democrat delegate, was a part of the NO Casino community effort against the Wynn Casino proposed in Suffolk Downs, East Boston, helped organize community Peace Walk initiative that ran each spring through summer for nearly five years. Sandra served three years in East Boston High School as a member of the School Site Council, the Hiring Teachers Council and in the Parents Council. She served as a board member at the Piers Park Sailing Center, served in the Latino Democratic Caucus and also served in several other schools and organizations while holding a job and raising two children.

“I do all of this community organizing because I genuinely care about the quality of life of all of us in my community, my home, and in the world as a whole. I think that we won't see change until we get involved and act on the issues that affect our safety, our health and our quality of life as a whole. I genuinely believe that it is important to push for the change we want to see and for the betterment we want to see happen. Therefore, I decided to act by getting involved instead of waiting for others to do it all on my behalf.” -Sandra Lorena Alemán Nijjar