Susan Peterson

Susan (Sue) Peterson brings to Foulston’s governmental affairs and public policy practice group the full experience of her accomplished career working with and for Kansas legislators and elected officials. As a member of the governmental affairs and public policy team serving Foulston’s clients, Sue acts as a strategic advocate, advisor, and connection to the Kansas Legislature, government agencies, and elected officials, helping understand clients’ policy goals and find ways to help reach them.

Before joining the Foulston team, Sue served as chief government relations officer for Kansas State University for nearly 35 years. There, she directed all state, federal, and community government relations and served as the University liaison to the Kansas Legislature, state executive branch agencies, and the Kansas Congressional Delegation. During her tenure, Sue played critical roles in passing legislation to allocate more than $600 million and 38 acres of land to the Department of Homeland Security’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan; collaborated with the higher education community to pass the Kansas Economic Growth Act, which launched the Kansas Bioscience Authority; and spearheaded the University’s effort to enact the State Education Institute Long-Term Infrastructure Maintenance Program, which provided $90 million for deferred maintenance at state universities.

A collaborative relationship-builder, Sue has fostered a robust and well-established network of state and federal lawmakers, corporate/academic leaders, and policymakers nationwide. As a former executive assistant to the governor and chief of staff of the Kansas Speaker of the House and Kansas House Majority Leader, Sue’s insight into the legislative process is drawn on personal experience.

Sue earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Kansas State University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas, and a Doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University. She is not licensed to practice law.

Sue’s leadership and knowledge have been recognized with multiple honors throughout her career, including the Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Achievement Award by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and both the Career Excellence Award and the Betty Colgan Memorial Leadership Lecture Award by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. She is a graduate of Leadership Kansas and serves on the boards of AAA Kansas, the Eisenhower Foundation, the Kansas Oral History Project, Friends of Hale Library, and the Memorial Hospital Foundation in Manhattan, Kansas. 

Education

• Kansas State University (PhD in Curriculum and Instruction)
• University of Kansas (MPA)
• Kansas State University (B.S. in Political Science)

• Governmental Affairs & Public Policy Law

• Eisenhower Foundation, Board of Directors, 2023-present
• Kansas Oral History Project, Board of Directors, 2023-present
• Kansas State University named the Susan K. Peterson Room in Hale Library, 2023
• Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Council on Government Affairs, 1989-2023
  • Representation to the Board on Agriculture Assembly: Budget and Advocacy Committee: 2018-2022
  • Representation to the Board on Agriculture Assembly: Committee on Legislative Policy 2011-2013
  • Executive Committee, 2008, 2010-2014
• American Association of State Colleges and Universities, State Relations Conference Chair 2019-2020; Task Force Member 2016-2020
• Betty Colgan Memorial Leadership Lecture Award, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, 2019
• Career Excellence Award, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, 2019
• Flinchbaugh Family Wildcat Pride Award, K-State Alumni Association, 2016
• Blue Key Honorary Member, 2014
• Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Achievement Award, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2012
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Excellence in Public Service Series, Class of 2010-2011
• Governor-Elect Transition Team, Fall 2010
• Kansas Native Daughters, 2002-2006; President, 2005-2006
• Leadership Kansas, 1984

• Amethyst Axiom, President, 2023-present
• Office of the President, Kansas State University, Chief Government Relations Officer, 1989-2023
• Governmental Affairs / Executive Assistant to the Governor, Executive Assistant to the Governor, 1987-1989
• Office of the Kansas Speaker of the House, Chief of Staff, 1982-1986
• Office of the Kansas House Majority Leader, Chief of Staff, 1978-1982

• Friends of Hale Library, Board of Directors, 2023-Present
• Memorial Hospital Foundation, Manhattan, Kansas, Board of Directors, 1997-Present
• Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Business Advocacy Committee, 1999-Present