Presenter
Dr. Susan Leddick
President and Senior Consultant, PKR, Inc
Susan Leddick is a consultant in organization design and improvement. A former teacher, community college administrator, director of training for a state government project and director of quality and training for a manufacturing firm, Susan is active in the application of quality theory, practices, and tools. She is one of a handful of consultants in the United States who pioneered the translation of quality management methods from business to education.
For the past 10 years, Susan cooperated with Interact: The Institute for Interactive Management. In early 2000, she was a founding partner of Interact: The Center for Designing Interactive Systems, headquartered in Philadelphia. In October 2000, she founded DataNotGuesswork, Inc., and serves as its president. She leads two networks of colleagues who assist with consulting and training projects. Susan is the primary instructor for a nine-month course in Contemporary School Leadership in Iowa, a course that has grown to include multiple sites with nearly 1000 participants. She is currently an external evaluator for a large project funded by the California State Department of Education.
In addition to Susan's work with public schools and education agencies at local, state and national levels, she consulted to car dealerships, manufacturing firms, hospitals, medical clinics, a trucking firm, a child care provider and a variety of other kinds of organizations. The diversity of her experience is a testament to how readily she adapts general concepts to any setting while appreciating each organization's unique qualities.
Susan is known for her ability to address specific client needs with innovative, research-based, practical solutions that draw from a diverse base of knowledge. She effectively blends theory and practice in standards-based education, professional development, measurement, organization design, leadership and quality methods to craft unique approaches that respect client differences.
A frequent conference presenter in America and Canada, Susan is co-author of PQ Systems' Total Quality Transformation training series. She also served as an aide to Dr. W. Edwards Deming for nearly ten years. She is the first business owner invited to serve on the board of the international Association of Education Service Agencies Foundation.
Susan Leddick holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education from University of Missouri – Columbia, a master's degree in adult and continuing education from University of Missouri – St. Louis and a doctorate in educational leadership from Western Michigan University – Kalamazoo.
