Sandra Gross

Sandra Gross is delighted to rejoin the SCCF Board. She has been visiting Sanibel for 50 years, with many fond memories of flying kites with her father and searching for shells with her mother. For the past 40 years, her family has gathered in the same beloved home on the East End.

When she’s not on Sanibel, Sandra lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she grows native plants and enjoys observing the many creatures that make their home in her garden.

Driven by passions for art, pollinators, food, and community, Sandra co-founded an art studio that is now home to more than 25 artists. Through her company, Brazee Glass Design, she creates glass awards, housewares, architectural installations, and large-scale public and commercial works. Her studio also teaches nearly 5,000 students each year — from ages 3 to 90. 

Following her love of food and the “little things” that make it possible (pollinators!), Sandra also co-founded Sleepy Bee, a restaurant devoted to delicious, local, and sustainable cuisine. Now 11 years in, it has earned “Best Breakfast” seven times and is proud to be Ohio’s first B Corp restaurant.

Her current work focuses on telling the story of pollinators in new and meaningful ways. She served as executive producer of “Little Things That Run the World,” a documentary exploring our relationship with insects, their decline, and the hope ahead. The film recently won the Sustainable Futures award at the Ceres Documentary Food Film Festival in New York and will be shown at the Bailey Homestead in January.

For the past decade, Sandra has served on the committee that annually honors an environmental artist with the SCCF “Ding” Darling Brush of Excellence Environmental Art Award.