Sandra is the Digital Collections Manager at the Courtauld Gallery, part of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK. She oversees the collections management system (CMS), its integrated digital asset management system (DAMS), and the Courtauld Gallery Collection Online, championing digital preservation and the broad dissemination of the objects in the collection.
Her academic and professional background spans art history, museum studies, and digital technologies in cultural heritage. She holds a BA in Art History, a Postgraduate Diploma and MA in Museum Studies, and a PhD in Art History specialising on Museum Studies and Artistic Heritage; with focus on the connections between Art and Science.
She began her career in Portugal, working in both museum and academic settings, and has increasingly specialised in digital technologies applied to cultural heritage contexts. Before joining the Courtauld, she held similar roles at the British Council Collection, the Royal Society, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and the Ruskin - Museum & Research Centre.
Deeply committed to making collections accessible to all and sharing the stories behind the objects, Sandra is passionate about widening and deepening access for research and public engagement, storytelling, and advocating for digital environmental sustainability. She is also an active member of the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) community, serving as co-chair of the IIIF Museums Community Group and as a member of the IIIF Annual Conference Programme Committee.