“I think that Theresa Sanders was someone who had what you would call ‘a servant’s heart.’ To me, it’s just a perfect symmetry that she should be a social worker because of her deep commitment to serving people, and she had a special heart for older adults,” says Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings. “So I think she was just perfectly placed in her professional life because that was really an extension of her personal life.”
Ladson-Billings fondly remembers her good friend, Theresa Sanders, a longtime community activist and matriarch in the Madison community, who passed away on Jan. 28 at the age of 77.
During her career, Theresa Sanders worked as a social worker in child protective services and elderly services. Her professional service included roles with Gary, Indiana’s Department of Public Welfare and the Dane County Department of Human Services. She was instrumental in helping establish the Dane County Department of Human Services Aging and Disability Resource Center in Madison, as well as the NewBridge Madison elderly services location on Madison’s North Side…