Liz Hanlon Sands ’04: A Story of Courage and Change
By BARBARA ALLISON
Liz Hanlon Sands ’04 is nobody’s victim. She’s a survivor and a thriver. Less that two years before she came to Saint Mary’s College, the Fort Wayne, Indiana native survived a kidnapping at gunpoint and repeated sexual assault by two men.Through her testimony, she helped to secure the conviction of one of her attackers. Since then, she’s dedicated her life to helping other survivors. On October 6, Sands will deliver the keynote address Choosing Courage, Creating Change at the sixth Raise Your Voice Sexual Violence Prevention Symposium at the College.
In 2000, when her first-year classmates were learning to navigate life, Sands was rebuilding hers. Through a strong support system, including her parents and her sister, Jennifer Hanlon Walnoha '06, she learned that survival is her story, not the attack. From day one, her parents helped her reframe the anniversary of her attack as her family’s “Courage Day.”
“There were many bumps along the way, but it's the mindset that says you're not a victim of the situation, you're a survivor, and each year is a year stronger. We're not dwelling on it, but being thankful that we've come so far, because it impacted our whole family,” Sands said. “Once I got to Saint Mary's, I discovered the impact of sharing my story in a community that was super supportive. I didn't realize how many people I would reach through sharing my story and finding my voice throughout my time at Saint Mary's. You realize the power of that.”
Sands played golf and was captain of the golf team her junior and senior years. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2004 and worked as an Admission counselor for Saint Mary’s for a year after graduation. She is now a CPA in northern Virginia, where she and her husband, Clay Sands, are raising their four children. In 2019, Sands was inducted into the Saint Mary’s College Athletics Hall of Fame. “To go to nationals the last two years I was there was really quite remarkable,” she said. “Some of my best friends are my teammates and the people that I met at Saint Mary's. We're all still very close.”
Once I got to Saint Mary's, I discovered the impact of sharing my story in a community that was super supportive. I didn't realize how many people I would reach through sharing my story and finding my voice throughout my time at Saint Mary's. You realize the power of that.
- Liz Hanlon Sands ’04
During her junior year at Saint Mary’s, Sands shared her survival story with CBS News. The NCAA was interested in student-athletes who had impactful stories, and Lynn Kachmarik (former Saint Mary’s College Athletic Director) nominated her. “It was really a lovely story. It showed me that there is a value in sharing, even if it's hard,” Sands said.
Sands also found healing through her strong Catholic fatih “I've been Catholic my whole life. I've never wavered on that. My faith got stronger in college, and grew as I've gotten older and had my own family. It continues to be a foundation of my life, the children I'm raising, and the person I am.”
In 2019, Sands founded The Courage Closet, non-partisan, non-denominational, and non-judgemental non–profit organization that initially sought out to provide new clothing and personal care items for survivors. However, they quickly pivoted to assisting with various needs of survivors by providing funding for meals, rides home from the hospital, rides to and from follow-up appointments, medication, and post-trauma care and counseling; as well as funding investments in top of the line technology and portable cameras that can be incredibly helpful during evidence collection. This is all done via their partnership with Inova, a hospital organization in Northern Virginia, and their Forensic Assessment and Consultation Team (FACT) to address the needs of abused children and adults. Through this initiative, survivors receive expert medical evaluation, forensic evidence collection, and expert interpretation based on training, experience, and medical data.
“It's been a fantastic partnership,” Sands said. "We've been able to help them both with their patients as well as giving them resources for their own mental well-being, which has been huge.” Through that partnership with the Ohana Preservation Foundation, The Courage Closet now offers retreats, including art and equine therapy, and counseling to the medical staff that cares for survivors to help mitigate the vicarious trauma they endure in their difficult but necessary work.
Since her kidnapping was a local news event when it happened, Sands said that much of her story has always been public. “From the beginning. It was talked about, so I knew I needed to find a way to use it for good. I feel called to keep sharing my story and to continue to find ways to help and encourage others to do the same.”
Learn more about the Raise Your Voice Sexual Violence Prevention Symposium here.
September 22, 2026