NYSPEP Member Spotlight: Susan E. Perkins

Ms. Susan E. Perkins serves as Co-chair of the NYSPEP Steering Committee and is actively involved in several NYSPEP initiatives behind-the-scenes. She is the Senior Policy Analyst for the New York State Council on Children and Families. She has represented the Council as a principle member of the New York State Parenting Education Partnership (NYSPEP) since its inception in 2006. At the Council, she works closely with the staff of the Head Start Collaboration Project, the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) initiative, and the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) on early childhood, parenting and family literacy issues across the state.

In 2009, Susan was appointed Young Child Wellness Expert, the state project manager, for NY Project LAUNCH, a SAMHSA initiative to improve the systems that serve young children and address their physical, emotional, social, cognitive and behavioral growth. Prior to joining the Council, Susan was an Even Start Family Literacy coordinator for seven years and an adult educator, specializing in child and family development/parenting education, for Cornell Cooperative Extension for seven years.

Susan holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Pennsylvania State University, is a member of the Association for the Education of Young Children and serves on the board of the NYS Family Engagement Coalition, formerly the Parental Information & Resource Center (PIRC), Cornell University’s Parenting Work Team and is an honorary board member of Literacy Volunteers-Rensselaer County.