Susan Nisonger Olsen started her college education with an uphill battle: she needed three years of community college and numerous remediation classes before she could transfer to California State University, Monterey Bay. Susan persevered, becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree and today is a doctoral candidate in the educational leadership program at California State University, Sacramento.

In her 18 years as an educational leader, Susan has served as a teacher, principal and teacher educator focused on urban education in high schools. Susan has improved the lives of students living in poverty by ensuring they receive a high-quality education and by preparing teachers to better serve marginalized students.

Susan’s goal is to be a transformational leader in education by improving teaching and learning for schools with students living in poverty. She dreams of developing a teacher residency program for urban schools and districts in California.