[1] From June 2011[2] to March 2014,[3] Sandler served as executive director of the GNOME Foundation.

With SFLC, she became a public speaker about issues of Free and Open Source software at conferences such as OSCON,[7][8] SCaLE,[9] and LinuxCon.

[10] In 2010, she led an initiative advocating for free software on implantable medical devices[11] after exploring the issues surrounding the software on her own implanted medical device (a defibrillator), which regulates hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited heart condition.

[12][13] In addition to her work with the Software Freedom Conservancy, Sandler also served as general counsel (pro bono) of the non-profit Question Copyright.

[17] In 2023 she received an honorary doctorate from KU Leuven for her exceptional dedication to open source applications within medicine, for her relentless drive to make technology better and safer, and her exemplary role within the technology world as a woman and lawyer.