Dr. Robert A. Sanders began his service on the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island board of directors in 20 de setembro16. He is a retired U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) Captain, a legal/national security educator, a former federal government organization counsel and private industry military communications and weapons systems engineer. For more than two decades he developed the critical thinking of diverse groups of global leaders and supported the international human rights, international law, military, and diplomatic objectives of the United States.

He has served as a staff and legislative director, criminal and civil defense counsel, and criminal prosecutor in the United States, afloat, and overseas. He was previously a military professor at the U.S. Naval War College and director, U.S. Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, both headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island. Dr. Sanders has served on several boards of directors, including the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and the U.S. Secretary of Defense's Recovering, Wounded, Ill and Injured Members of the Armed Forces Task Force and multiple youth sports organizations.

He earned a Doctor of Law and Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University; an LLM from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School, a JD from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America, and additional master's degrees.