31. Dr. Susan Enfield - Knowing Students by Name, Strength, and Need

This week, we're sitting down with a leader who has spent her career doing something rare — keeping students at the center, even when the systems around her made that hard.

Dr. Susan Enfield is the Executive Director of the University of Washington's Center for Educational Leadership. Her path there winds through some of the most meaningful work in public education — from serving as interim superintendent in Seattle, to a decade leading Highline Public Schools, where she launched the Highline Promise: that every student would be known by name, strength, and need. Most recently, she took on Washoe County School District in Nevada, one of the largest in the state, bringing that same commitment to scale.

What sets Susan apart isn't the titles or the accolades — though she has been recognized nationally as a superintendent of the year. It's the how. She leads with listening. She builds trust before she builds programs. She creates conditions where both students and adults can grow. And she does it all with a humility that is disarming and a clarity of vision that is unmistakable.

In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to lead through change, why relationships will always matter more than programs, and how someone at Susan's level of experience continues to grow. This is a leader who has chosen, again and again, to use their many many talents and skills for social good.

Dive in!