Marilyn A. Sanders is currently serving as the Regional Director for the Chicago Region. Her extensive career spans four decennial censuses and multiple survey data collection innovations and improvements. Mrs. Sanders is committed to excellence at every level in pursing the Census Bureau’s mission.

Mrs. Sanders joined the Census Bureau as a Field Representative in the mid 70’s, and has served in many different capacities in the regional office before being selected as a survey statistician in the mid 80’s. Her interest in exploring all facets of the Census Bureau led her to accepting a position as a geographer and subsequently to a supervisory geographer. She provided her expertise in this area for more than 10 years before returning to her role as a supervisory survey statistician/coordinator. She was selected as the assistant regional director for the Chicago region in 1998. She has a strong commitment to knowledge sharing and mentoring, understanding this to be pivotal in the success of the region.

Mrs. Sanders’ extensive knowledge of field data collection has been an invaluable asset to the Chicago Region. Her contributions as Coordinator, Survey Statistician, Supervisory Geographer, Assistant Regional Census Manager and Deputy Regional Director in both the 2000 and 2010 Censuses provide a glimpse of her forty-year career with the U.S. Census Bureau. Additionally, she was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the Special Census Program, serving as the Coordinator of the National Special Census Program, and has served in the capacity as a resident SME for the HQ staff. She has received many commendations during her career, earning three Bronze Medals in 1992, 2000 and 2011, and the Presidential Hammer award in 2010. She has been nominated twice for Federal Employee of the year for her outstanding public service.

Mrs. Sanders was selected to serve alongside many distinguished women during the 2018 Women’s History Month at the U.S. Census Bureau. Mrs. Sanders achievements at the Census Bureau were highlighted to encourage other women to build careers within the Census Bureau. Also, she was featured in the U.S. Department of Commerce Spotlight on Commerce, February 2018 highlighting her achievements as an African American woman who has paved the entry for other women of color with the Bureau.

Mrs. Sanders earned her BA degree in Business Management with a concentration in Economics from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She attended the University of South Alabama and Governor State University, pursuing post graduate studies in the area of Geography and Statistics. She is member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.