Three time Emmy Award winning correspondent, producer, writer and former news executive, Marlene Sanders broke barriers for women throughout her career. While a correspondent at ABC News, she was the first woman to anchor a prime time network newscast, subbing for an ailing anchorman (1964). In 1966 she was the first TV newswoman to report from Vietnam, and in 1976, while a producer-correspondent for ABC’s documentary unit, made news by becoming the first woman news vice president at the networks, when she was named Vice President and Director of Documentaries.

Sanders, a native of Cleveland, Ohio began her career in New York in local news working for Mike Wallace in 1955. In 1964, she joined ABC News and remained there for nearly 14 years as a correspondent, anchor, producer and news executive. In 1978 she joined CBS News, working on documentaries for CBS Reports and on other reporting assignments. After nearly 10 years at CBS she left in 1987 to host several public affairs programs at the local PBS station in New York, WNET. During her 4 years there she also taught part time as an Adjunct Professor of Journalism at both New York University and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. During this same period she anchored Profiles in Progress, 26 half hours about the developing world. Following 5 years as a Dupont Awards judge, in 1999 she became a judge for the Peabody Awards given for outstanding achievement in broadcasting.

From 1977 through 2000, she was Professional in Residence at the Freedom Forum foundation’s Media Studies Center, where she organized and moderated panels on media issues. Sanders also narrates documentaries for HBO, public television, and others.

She is co-author with Marcia Rock of “Waiting for Prime Time: The Women of Television News,” an updated version of which was published in l994 by the University of Illinois Press.

She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as numerous professional journalism groups.

Volunteer Boards: Chairperson of RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of The Community Service Society).
On the board of the website women’senews.org from 1999-2006.
Appointed Sept. 2002 to the Mayor’s Commission on Women’s Issues. Served until fall, 2006.