Honoring Sandy Glista
On Sunday, February 1st, 2026, Sandra Glista passed away at home surrounded by family. All of us in the Aphasia Access community have been impacted so deeply by Sandy and we express our deep condolences to the Glista family.
Sandra Glista was foundational in the establishment of Aphasia Access, and throughout her decades of service has impacted the lives of countless individuals impacted by aphasia, and so many of us who work with people with aphasia. A co-founder of the Aphasia Communication Enhancement (ACE) program at Western Michigan, Sandy led by example in her clinical service, research, policy development, steadfast advocacy, and mentorship.
She is an exemplary example of a colleague dedicated to nurturing talents, fostering growth, and establishing lasting relationships. Throughout her career, she emphasized the importance of mentorship as a catalyst for personal and professional advancement. Her peers describe her as incredibly dedicated to supporting others, encouraging, kind, brutally honest but full of compassion and wisdom. In all that she did, she was always a mentor. Sandy was demanding – but in the right way. She demanded excellence, set a standard of excellence, and through her skillful mentorship brought out the best in all of us.
The impact of her leadership, service, and her exceptional mentorship is infused throughout the Aphasia Access community and beyond. In 2023, Aphasia Access recognized Sandy’s efforts with the Presidential Award and the establishment of the Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring Award to recognize an exceptional mentor who has demonstrated unwavering commitment, unparalleled guidance, and profound impact on the professional and personal development of others working in the aphasia community. In the summer of 2023, we traveled to her friend and colleague’s home in Kalamazoo, Michigan to present the Presidential Award and announce the newly established Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring Award. This award celebrates her legacy by acknowledging mentors who exhibit similar qualities of leadership, support, unwavering dedication, commitment to excellence, and inspiration. Despite the effects of her cancer and her cancer treatment, Sandy gracefully and graciously engaged with all present, providing nuggets of wisdom, and personalized readings and advice. Always a mentor. Sandy describes an effective mentor as someone who puts others first. Someone who listens intently and actively and reflects the others’ ambitions, wishes, and hopes for their life satisfaction and fulfillment. Someone who can ask questions and collaborate to form a path or map steps to a goal. Someone who genuinely and authentically appreciates the talents and the full humanness of the other. Always a mentor.
Individually and collectively, we grieve the loss of a wonderful person – a wife, a mom, a grandma, a friend, a colleague, a gardener, a matriarch of the aphasia community and of the Aphasia Access community. It’s fitting to conclude with a portion of the award description developed in her name – reflective of her impact on all of us: Her legacy continues to live on through the ripple effects of people who she has mentored who continue to mentor the future generation of aphasiologists, and who strive to put the person and family at the center of all we do.
With sadness, and with so many meaningful memories, we grieve the passing of Sandra Glista. Always a mentor.
We invite you to read Sandy’s obituary to learn more about her remarkable life, her family, and the legacy she leaves behind.
Sandy (front and center) celebrated by Aphasia Access board members through the creation of the
Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring Award.