Susie earned her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the City University of Seattle. She is an alum of the University of Washington, having earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology with a Marine Emphasis in 2001. She became a clinician with a community mental health agency upon her graduation with a Counseling Psychology degree. While employed by this agency, she was promoted to Clinic Manager, Regional Operations Director, and Division Director overseeing the day-to-day operations of six outpatient mental health, primary care, and substance abuse recovery centers.
She gained her assessment and crisis experience by working in King County emergency departments, providing psychological assessments for clients being evaluated for Involuntary Psychiatric Holds, making treatment recommendations, working with the Involuntary Treatment Act Court, and starting Law Enforcement and Mental Health Professional Co-Responder Programs in six police departments in King and Snohomish County.
Susie is a national speaker and educator on Crisis Response, Mental Health, and de-escalation instructs at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (police academy) for Crisis Intervention Training. She also is a Mental Health Advisor for Crisis Systems Management and loves golden retrievers and her two little rescue kittens!
Currently, Susie works for the Redmond Police Department as their Community Support Administrator and Co-Responding Mental Health Professional. Additionally, she is a trained Crisis and Hostage Negotiator/Mental Health Professional with the King County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiation Team.
