[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE LIFE OF R. ALEXANDRA `SANDY' LARSON OF NORTH BRUNSWICK

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 11, 2020

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life 
and contributions of R. Alexandra Larson, better known as Sandy, who 
spent her life advocating for social justice, fighting for those who 
might otherwise be voiceless and placed justice higher than any other 
objective.
  Sandy dedicated her career to the taxing but incredible work of 
fighting for civil rights and supporting children and families. Unlike 
many, she walked the walk, living her values daily. As an attorney with 
the Middlesex County Office of the Public Defender, she developed 
projects to document and address disproportionate rates of arrest and 
incarceration for people of color--working to correct a disparity that 
plagues our society even now. As Director for the Governor's Committee 
on Children's Services Planning, Sandy was responsible for reports that 
to this day are the basis for broad advocacy efforts for children 
across my state, and she is credited with helping to develop the New 
Jersey Youth Services Commission--established to fix the way courts 
handle at-risk youth.
  Sandy's efforts to affect positive change were not limited to her 
professional endeavors. In her free time, she shared her three 
degrees--a BA in Journalism from Douglass College, an M.S.W. from 
Rutgers School for Social Work and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law--
Newark--and her years of expertise with community organizations that 
included the Metuchen-Edison NAACP and the Latino Leadership Alliance 
of New Jersey. She served on the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey 
Training School for Boys, the Children's Trust Fund of New Jersey, the 
Coalition for Hispanic Rights in Criminal Justice, the Middlesex County 
Local Advisory Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the ASAP 
program.
  What her friends and family, including her daughter Francesca Dulce 
Larson, her mother Francesca Nadalini, granddaughter Serafina Giovanna, 
and her siblings Michela, Marthe, Robb, Gus, Giovanna, George, Jayne 
Amelia, and Jonathan, will no doubt miss the most is her spirit. Sandy 
was fearless and fierce. She was about building a brighter future for 
everyone and connecting the dots that would improve the world just a 
little with every action she took. She was a light in every room, the 
link that connected so many friends, and a source of love in a world 
that could use more of it. I am so grateful for everything she 
accomplished and devoted herself to with her time here, and I send my 
heartfelt prayers to all those who join me in mourning her loss.

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