In March 2016, Susie Howard was named Director of High School Initiatives for the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. An Indianapolis native, Howard holds a bachelor of arts in international relations from Bucknell University and a master of arts in political management from George Washington University. She joined Purdue after serving as Senior Director at EmployIndy where she led Hire Up, a strategic workforce development initiative aimed to increase the technical talent pipeline in Central Indiana. Prior to her role at EmployIndy, Susie served as Chief of Staff for the Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA). She first joined Governor Daniels Administration in September 2010 as FSSA Legislative Director and was appointed to Chief of Staff in December 2011. Susie moved to FSSA from Walgreen Co. where she served for three years as the manager of federal government relations. Prior to joining the private sector, Susie spent more than six years as a senior health and legislative policy staff member with the Committee on Government Reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2005, she was chosen to serve as policy staff for the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina.