Board member highlight:
Sandra graben

When Sandra's grandson, T.J. Hulme, died in 1989 at the age of 6 1/2 months, she was living in Texas. She completed a real estate development, closed her wholesale jewelry business and channeled her time and energy against SIDS. She worked with SIDS organizations in Texas, where she then lived; in Illinois, where she previously lived; and in Arizona, where her daughter, Cathy and her husband, Tim, who lost the baby, lived. She focused her energy on raising funds for research and raising awareness throughout health and first contact professionals. In 1994, at a National SIDS Conference, attending grandparents formed the Alliance of Grandparents Against SIDS Tragedy (AGAST). The focus for AGAST was and is grandparent support. As the Coordinator for AGAST, Sandra has spoken at International SIDS Conferences in Norway, Austria, Ireland and France as well as numerous State SIDS conferences spreading the word "there is help for grieving grandparents".

Initially assisted by her sister, Vicky Dillavou, and a grant of $2,000.00 from the State of Illinois SIDS Director, Lori Bennett, AGAST has grown to over 1,500 grandparents. AGAST has expanded its focus to include ALL grieving grandparents merging Alliance of Grandparents, A Support in Tragedy, side by side with Alliance of Grandparents Against SIDS Tragedy. Sandra served on the Illinois SIDS Alliance Board for three years and currently on the Arizona SIDS Alliance Board, since her move to Arizona. She is a Board member for the SIDS Survival Guide and on the committee for the National SIDS and Infant Death Program Support Center. She continues to speak around the world to raise awareness that grieving grandparents need support in order to support their children (the parents) and that support is available through AGAST, International.