Professor Saunders received her B.M.E., cum laude, and her M.M.E. from Howard University in Washington, DC and her J.D. from Seton Hall University. She was a recipient of a post-graduate fellowship at Stanford University under a grant for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Prior to coming to Seton Hall in 1981, Professor Saunders was Musical Director and Legal Analyst for the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Associate Legal Counsel to Carousel Communications, Inc., a production company for motion pictures and theatrical ventures. She is the founding director of the Summer Institute for Pre-Legal Studies, now in its 29th year, and former Director of the law school’s Legal Education Opportunities (LEO) Institute, celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year. She is also the Director of the Entertainment Law Track of the Intellectual Property Concentration and Faculty Director of the Entertainment Law Externship Program. She has published in the areas of both copyright law and legal education and has participated in numerous panels focusing on legal issues in the music industry, copyright and entertainment law. In 2002, Professor Saunders received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Black Law Students’ Association. In June 2006, Professor Saunders was the recipient of the Garden State Bar Association's Oliver Randolph Civil Rights Award for her outstanding contributions to diversity within the legal profession. She is past Chair of the Association of American Law Schools' Section on Part-time Division Programs and currently serves on its Executive Committee.