Biographical Information

Susanne Coie is the Accountability and Education Program Associate at the Charter Schools Development Center (CSDC). In this role, Coie conducts reviews of operating charter schools and assists charter school developers with education program design. Her expertise includes instructional practice and the founding and administration of charter schools..

Prior to joining CSDC, Susanne Coie was Principal and Co-Founder of the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, a charter school that opened in September 2002 with a mission to prepare urban youth for college, for healthy, self-directed lives, and as civic leaders. She wrote the school’s charter as well as public and private grants that brought the school $800,000 in funding. Under her leadership the Los Angeles Leadership Academy achieved an API similar schools ranking of 8 in its third year of operation. She began her career in education with five years as a classroom teacher, helping to administer a school-within-a-school. She earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, a teaching credential from California State University at Los Angeles, and a BA from Pomona College.