Susan grew up in Hudson, Ohio and started her lacrosse career at Western Reserve Academy. She was a High School All-American and competed on the Midwest Regional Team in the National Tournament. She went on to be a two-sport athlete at Johns Hopkins University, playing as a varsity starter her whole college career in lacrosse and field hockey serving as a 2-year captain for field hockey. She majored in Natural Sciences and Public Health, with a minor in French.

She holds a Masters of Science from Harvard School of Public Health and worked for many years in programming and advocacy for the health and wellness of girls. She went on to receive her law degree with certification in health law, from the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law and launched a decade long career in bioethics and research oversight, working at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Oregon Health and Science University.

Susan was already a busy working mom of two, but when she added twin middies to her team in 2010, she decided to break away from the office and return to the field to make more time for her family. After years coaching boys and girls youth lacrosse for Lincoln and Oregon Episcopal School (OES), Susan stepped into the Varsity coaching position at OES in 2016, taking the team to their first ever State final in her second year. She joined 3d in the Fall of 2014.