Born in Mississippi, Sandra M. Shapard (1939-2018), was a longtime resident of New York State, a political strategist, and public servant. She earned a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State College for Women, attended graduate school at Vanderbilt University, and later received a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Beginning in the 1970s, Ms. Shapard became increasingly involved in politics, initially as a volunteer. She coordinated several election campaigns including those of Phil Magnarella for New York State Assembly, Lucille Pattison for Dutchess County Legislature and Pattison for county executive. In 1976, she began working for the Democratic majority in the New York State Assembly, eventually serving as special assistant to the speaker for Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1981, Ms. Shapard took a position as assistant to the county executive in Dutchess County. Later, Ms. Shapard worked at the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, rising to deputy director of Budget Studies. In 1989, she became deputy Assistant Commissioner for Transit at the Department of Transportation. She then moved to the Division of the Budget, later serving as first deputy budget director. Ms. Shapard joined the Office of the State Comptroller as deputy comptroller for Budget and Policy Analysis in 1995. Ms. Shapard also was a volunteer for many organizations including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, and, following her retirement in 2001, a board member for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, Albany Senior Services, the Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency, and the Humanities Institute for Lifelong Learning.