Susan graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She began her nursing career at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, working in high-risk labor and delivery. She returned to Oregon and obtained her J.D. in 2005 from Willamette University College of Law.

Susan is a member of the Oregon State Bar, the Multnomah County Bar Association, the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Oregon Women Lawyers, and the American Nurses Association. Susan joined Keating Jones Hughes, P.C. as an associate, in 2007. Her areas of practice include the defense of hospitals and healthcare practitioners in medical malpractice actions.