Before joining Turknett, Susan completed a distinguished career with BellSouth Corporation  (now AT&T) where she held a variety of leadership positions of increasing responsibility.  Her career spanned a broad range of line and staff functions including network operations, strategic planning, human factors, management assessment, technical training and executive support. 

At the executive level, Susan specialized in internal and external communications.  Working with the Network Executive Vice President and serving as a liaison for BellSouth International, she participated in over a hundred local, national and international forums focusing on the future of broadband technology.  Susan also directed support services for over 35,000 Network employees across a nine state region.  These services included succession planning and leadership development. 

A native of Franklin, Kentucky, Susan graduated with honor from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA with a B.A. in Psychology.  She also completed the Executive Development Program at Boston University’s Leadership Institute.  As a community volunteer, Susan has served as an adult literacy tutor, a teen mentor, a help line counselor, a fundraiser, and a member of the Governor’s Committee on Post-Secondary Education. Supporting women’s leadership, Susan has served on the following boards: Atlanta Women’s Network (AWN), Georgia Executive Women’s Network (GEWN), Board of Director’s Network (BDN), and Possible Woman Foundation International (PWFI).  Within these organizations, she has served on executive, scholarship and fundraising committees.  In 2007, Susan was named as a Charter Board Member for the Georgia Women’s Institute and in 2008, joined the board for Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta.  In March, 2009, she was elected vice president of the Atlanta chapter of CEO Netweavers, a national organization founded on the principles of servant leadership. Most recently, Susan was elected to the Agnes Scott Alumnae Board as well as the steering committee of the Literacy Alliance of Metro Atlanta.  She’s also a member of the Global Ethical Leadership Foundation under the direction of Dr. Betty Siegel.  

A special passion of Susan’s is her “SHEroes” project - a resource dedicated to female leaders.  She has interviewed over 60 women  - inspirational role models in fields from A to Z – and has recorded their life and career stories along with their leadership insights.  Some of these profiles are available at www.turknett.com/sectionR/women.html.  Susan’s other passion is being “Xanna” to four spirited grandchildren, 3 girls and a boy.