About Sandra

“Life is too short to spend it doing something that robs you of your energy and joy.”

Sandra Shugart is multi-passion personified: an ultra-talented visual artist who pours her creative heart and soul into her role as Vaco Nashville’s Managing Director and Staffing Practice Leader. Like the act of creating beauty from thin air, Sandra loves being a part of the Vaco transformations we see every day. “When we help our candidates find roles they truly love, it can change the trajectory of their career and life.” she says. “That’s pretty magical.”

Sandra’s artist intuition is her sharpest tool when it comes to understanding people and meeting their unique needs. (Big surprise: her college major was Psychology). Though she declared recruiting her “true calling” decades ago, she uses her psych degree every day as she digs deep to understand people, their motivations, and how to set them up for success. “There are so many things I love about working at Vaco, but I would have to say what I like most is the simple opportunity to help other people, whether that’s placing consultants or mentoring my own team,” she says. “Plus, I get to work alongside this spectacular family of human beings who genuinely love what they do. I am challenged every single day doing something I truly enjoy. That’s not just the icing on the cake. That IS the cake.”

Sandra is the heart of the Vaco Staffing team in Nashville, having grown the division from a two-person operation in 2004 to a growing, thriving team of ten today. Her “no BS” approach is a cultural cornerstone for Vaco Nashville, inspiring commitment, honesty, and transparency. And despite her many professional achievements, she’s still the kid with doodles all over her worksheets (you should see her meeting notes).

Outside of the Vaco Nation, the masterpiece Sandra is most proud of is her family; especially her son Cole, a recent college grad and founding member of the Nashville based band “The Criticals” @thecriticals/ https://linktr.ee/thecriticals. Keep your eyes open as you drive around Nashville — the woman in the car next to you belting out The Smiths songs is probably Sandra. She swears the acoustics are better in there, and we’ll take her word for it.