Susan Whitson and her husband, Keir, are parents to son Dryden (grade 4) and daughter Lucy (grade 2). They live in Washington, Virginia. in Rappahannock County.
Susan is co-founder and co-owner of King & Whitson Travel, a boutique travel agency that designs unique itineraries filled with enriching, off-the-beaten path experiences, coupled with personal service. Susan and her business partner, Martha King, have been named as Conde Nast Traveler magazine's 2020 Top Travel Specialists in the world. Susan has traveled to more than 70 countries on six continents, and to 49 US states. (Nebraska still eludes her.)
Prior to starting her travel business, Susan served as White House Press Secretary to First Lady Laura Bush from 2005 - 2007. During her time at the White House, Susan was the chief communications advisor and spokesperson for Mrs. Bush and the issues she worked on, including literacy and education, international women's issues, and historic preservation, as well as all White House social functions.
After leaving the White House, Susan worked with HarperCollins Publisher as a media consultant and traveling publicist to promote Jenna Bush's first book, Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope, a nonfiction story about a teenage single mother from South America living with HIV.
Prior to working at the White House, Susan was the Deputy Communications Director for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, where she was the spokesperson to Miss Barbara Bush and Miss Jenna Bush, the President and Mrs. Bush's daughters. Before joining the Bush-Cheney campaign, Susan was the Chief of the FBI's National Press Office and was the national spokesperson for the FBI and then-Director Robert Mueller.
From 2001-2002, Susan was the Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she served as the deputy spokesperson for then-Attorney General John Ashcroft on national breaking news, including the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
From 1997-2001, Susan served as a press secretary on Capitol Hill to Rep. Bob Riley of Alabama and Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida.
Susan began her career as a high school English teacher at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama. Her most famous student is Taylor Hicks, the 2005 winner of American Idol.
Susan holds a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education Language Arts from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.