“You were born with the ability to change someone’s life, don’t ever waste it.” Dale Partridge

Saundra (Saunie) Schuster is a Partner with TNG and President of ATIXA. A recognized expert in preventive and civil rights law for education, notably in the fields of harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and violence, ADA and disability issues, and the First Amendment, Schuster has extensive expertise on the First Amendment and campus access issues, risk management and liability, behavior intervention and threat assessment, student discipline and campus conduct, intellectual property, and employment issues. She serves frequently as a hearing advisor and decision-maker for sexual misconduct, discrimination, and Title IX grievance proceedings.

Schuster assists both public and private educational schools and colleges nationally in policy development, faculty handbooks and employee manuals, and training for state and federal compliance. She has provided extensive consultation to and training for the U.S. Justice Department, the Office of Violence Against Women, the White House Task Force on Sexual Assault, and the Futures Without Violence organization. She provides litigation consultation and expert witness support and conducts civil rights-based investigations for educational institutions. 

Prior to joining TNG in 2009, Schuster’s higher education legal experience included serving as the General Counsel for Sinclair Community College, as Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio, representing 53 public colleges and universities, and as the Associate General Counsel for the University of Toledo. In addition to her legal work in higher education, Schuster has over twenty-five years of experience in college administration and teaching, including serving as the Associate Dean of Students at The Ohio State University, Director of the Office of Learning Assistance at Miami University, and as Assistant Dean at Western College. She also served as a faculty member at The Ohio State University, Miami University, and Columbus State Community College.

Schuster holds master’s degrees in counseling and higher education administration from Miami University and a J.D. from the Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University.