[3] Sauerbrey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the only child of Ethel, a secretary/stenographer, and Edgar Richmond, a steelworker for Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point.

In 1990, she was elected as the national chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council,[7] serving in 1991 when President George H. W. Bush spoke to the organization.

In January 2006, while the Senate was recessed, President Bush appointed Sauerbrey as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration.

[9] In a January 15, 2007, hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic lawmakers and advocates for refugees called for increased help for fleeing Iraqis.

[10] Sauerbrey was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2013[11] and has written opinion articles published by The Washington Times as recently as 2017.