Susie is one of Nevada's most committed community advocates and local problem-solvers

Susie Lee has worked for over 20 years to bring people together to forge innovative solutions and help thousands of Nevadans lead better, safer, and healthier lives. As one of eight children growing up in a working class family, Susie learned the values of hard work and stretching a dollar, starting with a paper route that she began at the age of eight. Her father was a military veteran who worked at an Ohio steel plant, and her mother stayed home to care for Susie, her brother, and six sisters.

After graduating from public schools, Susie worked her way through Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a combination of scholarships, loans, and part-time jobs, including jobs in the library and cafeteria. Susie graduated with honors, earning a master’s degree in public management.

After moving to Las Vegas in 1993, Susie served as a campaign policy advisor to Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and was the founding Executive Director of a homeless shelter for women, families, and single parents. In 1995, she became the founding director of the After-School All-Stars (ASAS). Now in its 22nd year, ASAS provides 5,000 local children with after-school activities and enrichment programs. 

Since 2010, Susie has led Communities In Schools of Nevada (CIS), an organization that serves over 60,000 students in 63 schools statewide. In the last school year, 87 percent of students in the program graduated on time, compared with 62 percent statewide. Susie and her husband, Dan, have two children, Nevada and Cody.