Fatima Lopez Sandoval was born in Michoacan, Mexico and immigrated with her mother and young brother to California in 2003. Fatima is a First Generation Student who attended Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) schools, including Fletcher Middle School and Gunn High School. She went on to attend San Jose State University (SJSU) where she received a B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Social Interactions and a Minor in Child and Adolescent Development, graduating with department honors in the Fall of 2019.

While attending her first year at SJSU, she became a mom to a beautiful girl, who is now a PAUSD student. Fatima was involved with parent-support organizations at SJSU that helped other parents on campus continue their higher education. The great examples of counselors and staff at both PAUSD and SJSU encouraged Fatima to give back to her community.

Fatima sees DreamCatchers as a space where students can feel seen, loved, and most importantly, capable of achieving anything they desire. As a parent herself, Fatima also strives to support parents and DreamCatchers families, so together, they may help their students reach their full potential.