Susan is a graduate of NC Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, and also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Mars Hill College and an MBA from Appalachian State University.

Prior to becoming the Program Manager for the Be Active Appalachian Partnership in July 2005, she served as the Quality Improvement Coordinator for the ASU Student Health Service and as adjunct faculty in ASU's Walker College of Business, teaching courses in Operations Management and Healthcare Management.

Susan is certified in Infection Control and Epidemiology.