Susan Newton serves as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, leading cross-cutting programs focused on race, equity and inclusion, operational efficiencies and senior services.
Prior to joining the organization, Susan served as Senior Vice President at the National Park Foundation, where she developed programs to protect the natural, cultural and historic resources of the national parks and connect all people in America to the parks. She worked closely with the National Park Service and partners, awarding more than $250+ million to parks and partner organizations. Prior to NPF, she worked for 10 years in telecommunications, during which time she oversaw $1.2 billion in operational savings from the merger of Sprint and Nextel.
Susan holds a doctorate at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, with research on increasing diversity in the national parks, an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in public administration from Miami of Ohio.