S he received her law degree from Georgetown University, holds a Masters degree from the University of Chicago, and received her BA from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.

Judge Sarmina is the president of the Temple American Inn of Court, the Chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, serves on the Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, and is co-chair of the Hispanic National Bar Association's Judicial Council. She also previously served, for over a decade, on the Boards of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Congreso de Latinos Unidos.