Sue directs Merage Foundations, a consortium of eight foundations and nonprofits representing three generations of the David and Laura Merage family in Denver, Colorado. With a focus on venture philanthropy, Sue provides strategic oversight for Equitas, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to disentangle mental health from the criminal justice system; Black Cube, an experimental art museum that advances artists’ self-sufficiency; and Early Learning Ventures, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide tools and resources that allow childcare providers to streamline their business operations, resulting in more time and money to care for and educate our youngest learners.

Sue plays an integral role in Merage Foundations’ advocacy surrounding early childhood policy, including the advancement of access to affordable, high-quality childcare. Sue is a member of Colorado Governor Jared Polis’s Education Policy Council and the Colorado Early Childhood Leadership Commission.

Additionally, Sue is a founding board member of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, a business leaders membership organization dedicated to early childhood education advocacy, and is a director of Bright by Three, the developers of the national parent education platform Bright by Text. She is a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, and an advisor to the Bi-Partisan Policy Center’s Early Childhood Initiative.

Prior to joining the Merage Foundation in 2006, Sue was the executive director of Early Childhood Connections and previously worked as a senior program manager with the Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies.

Sue received her Bachelor of Science degree in human development from California Polytechnic University and her master’s degree in child and family development from Colorado State University.