Barbara Saunders is a program officer with The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, associated with the foundation's arts and culture program area, The Art of Change, and discretionary grant making. She joined the foundation staff as a program associate in 2002. Immediately prior to joining the Blank Family Foundation, Barbara consulted with small businesses on special projects development and project team management. A native of Virginia, Barbara moved to Georgia after her graduation from Hampton University and began a career in state government with the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (GDITT), now renamed the Department of Economic Development. During this time, she discovered an opportunity to serve her adopted hometown as a founding board member of Hands On Atlanta, an organization which seeks to make it easier for Atlantans to be actively involved in community service. Barbara is an alumna of the 2004 Class of the Hull Fellows Program of the Southeastern Council of Foundations. She currently serves with the Volunteer Leadership Corps for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program, and  has served as an arts education panelist for the Georgia Council for the Arts, and board member of Women In Film-Atlanta.