Susan Mendoza, Ph.D (she/her)

Susan's Bio

Susan is an educator and innovative leader who centers inclusion, equity, access, and justice in her work and professional life. She is the founding director of the Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement at Grand Valley State University, having earned her PhD in Educational Leadership at Western Michigan University and a Master of Arts in Student Affairs Administration at Michigan State University. Susan was also named a King, Parks Chavez Future Faculty Fellow. As a practitioner, Susan focuses on employing innovative programmatic design networks as a mechanism to build equity for students across disciplines and social identities. Her work with OOTL began as a parent of a queer, neurodiverse demi-adult, and evolved into serving as a Pride volunteer, Family & Friends program wrangler, grant writer, and organizational leader. Her passion for the work of OOTL is focused on creating networks of support for parents, youth, and community members who identify as LGBTQI+ and/ or allies.