Born in the Philippines, Sandie Gillis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communications in 1981 at the University of the Philippines. Alfredo Roces and Sandie Gillis co-authored the biography of the Dimasalang Artists' leader SYM Mendoza, the book entitled "SYM: The Power of Struggle" published in 2010. Sandie is currently a volunteer Board Director of Dimasalang III International Artist Group.