Susie earned her Master's of Arts in Counseling Psychology from City University of Seattle.  She is an alum of the University of Washington, having earned a Bachelor's of Arts in Speech Communication and a Bachelor's of Science in Zoology with a Marine Emphasis in 2001.  She became a Clinician with a community mental health agency upon her graduation with the Counseling Psychology degree.  While employed by this agency, she 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, making treatment recommendations, working with the Involuntary Treatment Act Court, and starting co-responder models in six police departments in King and Snohomish County. Susie is a national speaker and educator on Crisis Response, Mental Health, and De-escalation with the Elite Speakers Bureau, instructs at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for CIT (police academy), is an Adjunct Professor at City University, and loves Golden Retrievers and her two little rescue kittens! Currently, Susie co-responds with the King County Sheriff's Office Departments in Shoreline and Kenmore, Redmond, Bothell, Kirkland, and Lake Forest Park Police Departments.  Additionally, she is a trained Crisis and Hostage Negotiator/Mental Health Professional with the King County Sheriff's Office Crisis Negotiation Team.