Dr. Saunders graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 1993 with a B.A. in Sociology. She obtained her Masters in Social Work (MSW) in 1997 and her PhD in 2008 from the University of Buffalo (UB). Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia State University, Dr. Hartinger-Saunders was the Field Administrator and a faculty member in the BSW program at The State University of New York at Fredonia.