Susie Rutkowski

Susie is the Co-Director and Educational Specialist for Project SEARCH. She is a nationally recognized transition expert with specific experience in program development to foster career technical education and job development for young adults with disabilities. She served as the Manager for Disability Education at Great Oaks Career Campuses for over twelve years. During that tenure she, with Erin Riehle, co-founded Project SEARCH. Susie has been instrumental in designing the Project SEARCH Training Institute modules and leading replication efforts for new Project SEARCH sites. She speaks and writes on transition-related topics.

Susie’s degree in Special Education is from Bowling Green State University, and her Masters in Educational Administration is from the University of Dayton. In addition, she has done post-graduate work at Wright State University and Xavier University. Before working with Project SEARCH, she taught young students with multi-handicaps for eight years and worked for 10 years as a Job Placement Coordinator at Great Oaks working with students and graduates with disabilities.