Susie Ashenfelter is a public sector leader and equity practitioner with more than 16 years of experience leading organizational change, policy development, strategic planning, and equity-centered initiatives across Oregon state government. She currently serves as a Senior Community Impact & Access Strategist at the Oregon Department of Transportation, where she leads agency-wide efforts related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, affirmative action, equitable policy development, and civil rights implementation.
She collaborates across agencies and leadership teams to implement strategic DEI initiatives, advise on equity and civil rights matters, and support system-level change that improves workforce equity, accountability, and community outcomes. Her background includes executive facilitation, organizational change management, process improvement, workforce equity initiatives, and community engagement. She holds certifications in equitable community change, change management, Lean practice, strategic planning, and facilitation.
As a Latina woman raised in a low-income rural community where many families speak a language other than English at home, Susie brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her leadership. Throughout her career, people who look like her have been underrepresented at decision-making tables, shaping her commitment to advancing representation, creating equitable systems, and ensuring opportunities remain open for future generations. As both a leader and a mother, she is driven by a simple but powerful question: What kind of world does she want her daughter to be a part of?
