Susan Stillman holds an Ed.D in Educational Leadership from Fielding Graduate University, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) from Vermont College, and an M.Ed. from Antioch New England. Earlier professional roles include K-8 school counselor in Connecticut, independent school counselor at the Putney School in Vermont, and Licensed Professional Counselor. Previous faculty appointments were at Southern Connecticut State University, Northern Arizona University, Northcentral University, and Fielding Graduate University.

Susan has been a leader promoting social-emotional learning in education since the mid 1990s when, as a school counselor, she chaired her district’s strategic planning subcommittee on “personal and social responsibility” and helped develop an SEL initiative at her school. Susan then became Chair of the Social-Emotional Learning Special Interest Group at the American Educational Research Association and was honored to collaborate with SEL scholars from around the world. After receiving her doctorate, Susan was invited to become the first Director of Education for Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network, the world’s largest not-for-profit emotional intelligence community. Here she worked with educators globally to deepen their own emotional intelligence practice and to develop curriculum and strategies to integrate SEL into K-12 schools and universities. A frequent presenter at local, state, and national conferences, Susan is the author of several books and articles on SEL and is a Six Seconds’ Master Trainer. Now, as Emeritus Director of Education at Six Seconds, Susan continues to advocate for the many crucial roles of SEL in education. She teaches a course on the Six Seconds’ emotional intelligence youth assessment and supports researchers and practitioners in using data to help both educators and students become more self-aware, intentional, and connected with purpose.

With tremendous enthusiasm, Susan is currently available to work with Antioch Ed.D students interested in learning about and applying SEL in their doctoral work. She loves the excitement that her students feel when they recognize the power and joy of using SEL in their personal and professional lives.

Susan and her husband, Paul, and their therapy dog, Tasha, split their time between Tucson, Arizona and New York City.