Sandra Singh

Deputy city manager

Sandra was appointed Deputy City Manager in October 2023. Her portfolio includes Arts, Culture and Community Services, the Office of the Chief Safety Officer (Health and Safety, Corporate Protective Services, and Vancouver Emergency Management Agency), Intergovernmental Relations, and strategic lead for various inter-departmental initiatives, including the City’s response to complex social issues. 

Sandra first started working in the City’s family of services in 2004 with an appointment to the Vancouver Public Library’s senior team, first overseeing east-side branches and services for people who are homebound and then as the Director of Systems (IT) and Special Projects. After two years as the Director of the UBC Irving K Barber Learning Centre, Sandra rejoined the VPL as its Chief Librarian, a role she held for 7 years. She then joined the City as General Manager, Arts, Culture & Community Services, a role she held for close to 6 years before being appointed as Deputy City Manager. Prior to joining VPL in 2004, Sandra worked at the Port Moody Public Library, at a Vancouver-based Internet start-up, and at Calgary Public Library, and Abilene (TX) Public Library.

Sandra is currently appointed to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors. Prior to CBC-RC, she served in a variety of volunteer roles including as Commissioner on Canada Council for the Arts’ Public Lending Right Commission, as Chair of Library and Archives Canada’s National Heritage Digitization Strategy Steering Committee, and as President of the Canadian Library Association. She established and was a founding Board member of the national not-for-profit Centre for Equitable Library Access.

Sandra holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (1995) and a Master of Library and Information Studies (1997) from the University of British Columbia. She was born in the Fiji Islands and is of Nepali, Indian, and German ancestry. She and her family immigrated to Canada in the 1970s when she was a child, first arriving in Vancouver and then living in both BC and Ontario. 

When Sandra has some down-time, she enjoys reading and film, visiting local art galleries, weaving and other textile arts, sampling local restaurants, and spending time with family and friends. As a grateful and appreciative British Columbian, she welcomes any conversation about places in BC to visit.