When Susie Riddick first drove onto the Frazer Center campus in 2016, she remembers feeling like she had entered another world—the trees, the warmth of the teachers, the sense of care. “It was like driving into a Disney song,” she recalls.
Nearly a decade later, Susie is back at Frazer Center, not just returning, but returning changed. This time, she steps into the role of Senior Director of Child Development and Operations, bringing with her an expanded perspective shaped by leadership, crisis, healing, and growth beyond Frazer’s walls.
Her return marks more than a homecoming. It signals a moment of alignment between experience and vision, between where Frazer has been and where the organization is preparing to go next.
A Calling Rooted in Community
Susie’s path into early childhood education did not begin with a grand career plan. It began with need.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Susie moved to Virginia as a teenager. After graduating from high school, she worked in the public school system in an administrative role. She quickly realized it wasn’t where she wanted to stay. Around the same time, a young woman in her life needed childcare, and Susie’s sister was preparing to welcome her first child.
That moment became the spark.
Susie opened her first in-home childcare center. As she began taking classes and learning more about early childhood education (ECE), she discovered a passion she hadn’t expected—one rooted in caregiving, teaching, and leadership. She pursued a Technical Certificate of Credit, a practical and accessible approach to ECE training that builds college credits while allowing the student to gain hands-on experience.
“I realized this wasn’t just work,” she says. “It was something I was meant to do.”
After a couple of years running her in-home childcare program, Susie expanded her operations and opened an early childcare center in Newport News, Virginia. After getting married, she and her husband made another leap—moving to Atlanta, drawn by its reputation as a place of opportunity, particularly for African American entrepreneurs.
Starting over wasn’t easy. Susie was newly married, raising a teenager and a kindergartener, and rebuilding a business in a city where she had no family connections. But once again, her own community guided her. She opened another in-home program, then secured a space in a nearby church, continuing to build while caring for her own family.
Discovering Inclusion at Frazer Center
Susie found Frazer Center through a job posting, and quickly landed an interview. After that first drive up Frazer’s hill, encompassed by forest, she entered the building and saw teachers engaging children with care and intention. She felt an atmosphere of belonging, not just for children, but for families and staff alike. Most striking was Frazer’s deeply embedded commitment to inclusion.
At the time, inclusion at this level was new to her.
“I realized how much there still was to learn,” Susie says. “Frazer expanded my understanding of what inclusion truly means, and what’s possible when it’s done well.”
Hired as Assistant Director in 2016, Susie embraced the learning curve. She worked alongside experienced educators, therapists, and families, gaining insight into how children with varying abilities thrive when they are supported, seen, and challenged in inclusive environments.
In 2018, she was promoted to Director of the Child Development Program during a period of leadership transition. It was a role she had aspired to, and one that placed her closer to the organization’s operational and strategic core.
Leadership Tested by Crisis
As Director, Susie led with a philosophy shaped by humility, listening, and example. She believes leadership is both a gift and a responsibility, something to be used in service of others.
That belief was tested profoundly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The early months were emotionally exhausting. Parents could no longer enter the building. Trust had to be built through communication alone. Teachers faced fear and uncertainty. Families handed over their children each day with visible anxiety, and Susie carried that weight with them.
Frazer reopened in phases, eventually returning to full operations in August 2020. In December, Susie contracted COVID herself and later developed long COVID. Throughout her recovery, she experienced deep support from the Frazer community, even as she continued navigating operational challenges.
Under Susie’s leadership, Frazer achieved a major milestone: earning its first Quality Rated star during the pandemic, followed by a 2-star rating shortly thereafter. She was instrumental in launching the Refugee Intern Program as a solution to the hiring crisis that ECE centers nation-wide faced during the pandemic. And she helped represent Frazer Center as a finalist in the Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, signaling Frazer’s growing role in national conversations about inclusive early learning.
Still, the toll accumulated. Emotional labor, health challenges, and the prolonged pandemic crisis led Susie to a difficult realization. “I was burning out and needed to heal.”
Stepping Away to Grow
Susie left Frazer to focus on restoration. She traveled, spent time near the ocean, and allowed herself space to recover physically and emotionally.
That pause opened new doors. She was invited to help another organization build a childcare center from the ground up—a role that expanded her operational expertise. Soon after, she took another leap of faith, launching her own early childhood education consulting business to help organizations and individuals build sustainable, high-quality programs.
She didn’t plan on returning to Frazer. But then CEO DeAnna Julian reached out.
Choosing to Come Back
When Susie returned to Frazer initially as a consultant, the familiarity was immediate, as was the sense of possibility. Conversations with DeAnna opened the door to something more.
“Susie didn’t just come back to Frazer. She came back with a deeper perspective,” says DeAnna. “She fully understands our mission, but she also brings the clarity that comes from stepping away, broadening her leadership, and then choosing to return with intention.”
As discussions deepened, so did alignment. Susie was inspired by DeAnna’s vision for Frazer’s next chapter—one focused on thoughtful expansion of programs, and on strengthening the systems and leadership needed for the organization’s next phase of growth and long-term sustainability. Susie realized she wanted to be more than an advisor. She wanted a voice in shaping what comes next.
Susie’s new role as Senior Director of Child Development and Operations reflects that trust. She oversees all Child Development operations, supports compliance and systems, collaborates across programs, and will help guide long-term strategic planning alongside DeAnna and senior leadership.
A Return Felt by Families
For families who had been part of Frazer during Susie’s earlier years, her return felt deeply reassuring.
“We remember Susie fondly from our sons' time as Frazer students and are thrilled to welcome her back,” said Greg Sale, Board Chair and parent of children formerly in Frazer’s Child Development Program. “She is someone who truly understands the heart of the program, and it’s exciting to have her back on campus to help guide Frazer’s future.”
That sense of continuity matters, especially for parents who experience firsthand how leadership shapes the safety, care, and growth of their children. Susie's calm and caring leadership instills a sense of confidence and trust when parents bring their children to Frazer.
Looking Ahead
Today, Susie sees Frazer poised for its next chapter: expanding its reach, strengthening its team, and continuing to lead nationally in inclusive, nature-based early learning. She envisions deeper partnerships, broader advocacy, and systems that allow both children and educators to thrive.
“It’s new and familiar at the same time,” she says of being back. “And it feels right.”
For Frazer Center, Susie Riddick’s return is not about going back to what once was. It’s about moving forward, guided by someone who knows the path, understands the work, and believes deeply in what’s possible.