Susanne grew up in Lander, WY and spent much of her time outdoors and backpacking with her family in the Wind River mountains. She has always been drawn to nature, science, and medicine, in part due to her upbringing and her family. Susanne earned a major in Biology and minors in Spanish and Biomedical Science in 2004 from Colorado State University before moving to Portland, OR on a whim, which turned out to be one of her best decisions! While working as a research assistant at the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at OHSU, she eventually discovered the PA profession and attended OHSU for PA school, graduating in 2012.
Susanne and her husband, Rob, had been backpacking in the Wallowa Mountains over the years and dreamed of moving here. She spent the first 3 years of her career at Winding Waters before moving to Livingston, MT in 2016 to be closer to family. There she worked at Community Health Partners where she served as a PCP in family medicine for 6 years, but she continued to miss the warmth of the community, the diversity of the land, and her former job in Wallowa County. Susanne realized that Wallowa County and Winding Waters just fit her nature. So she was thrilled to rejoin the Winding Waters team at the beginning of 2023!
Suanne enjoys working closely and connecting with patients and families to help them achieve their best overall wellness. This means meeting patients where they are, prioritizing what matters most to them, providing education to help them make the best decisions for themselves, being there through life’s difficult times, and celebrating successes together. It also means learning, researching, and collaborating with colleagues and specialists to find solutions to challenging problems.
In her free time, she thrives in the outdoors and especially loves trail running, soccer, backpacking, hiking, skiing, and floating rivers. She is striving to become a better cook and birder, and she absolutely loves spending time with her husband and watching their daughter discover her world.