Commencement Speaker and Alumni Achievement Award Honoree

Dr. Sandra Lindsay, St. Joseph’s College ’98; Lehman College ’10

Director, Patient Care Services, Department of Critical Care, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Northwell Health
First in U.S. to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

Dr. Sandra Lindsay has more than 27 years of nursing experience, most of which have been in critical care. On December 14, 2020, she became the first person in the United States to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Raised in Jamaica by her grandparents, Lindsay moved to the United States with her siblings in 1986. In 1993, she graduated from Borough of Manhattan Community College as valedictorian of her nursing program. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing from St. Joseph’s College; a master of science in nursing from Lehman College; and a master of business administration from Hofstra University. In May 2021, Lindsay completed a doctor of health sciences degree with a concentration in global health and organizational behavior and leadership from A. T. Still University.

She began her career at Northwell Health’s Lenox Hill Hospital as an oncology nurse and soon after moved to critical care, where she advanced into multiple leadership roles before becoming, in 2016, director of Patient Care Services in the Critical Care Department of Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center. After receiving the first COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S., Lindsay became a publicly recognized advocate for the vaccine, medical research, and global equity. She has been recognized by President Joe Biden at the White House, and has met with the president of the United Nations and prime minister of Jamaica. She continues to focus her efforts both at home and across the globe.