Sue Cridge

Director, Education - The Connection

Sue joined SVA in 2013 as the Director, Education for SVA Bright Spots Schools Connection. The Connection provides innovative support to leaders to develop projects and actions that respond to the issues of education disadvantage in Australia’s most challenged communities. The work of the Connection is published and recognised internationally as cutting-edge design in systems leadership support and implementation. In 2015, Sue was acknowledged with an award from the Australian Council Educational Leaders for this work. In 2018, Sue’s work was recognised with a national Impact25 nomination with Pro Bono Australia.

Sue has over 38 years of both education professional and social sector experience within schools and at system and international levels of practice. She has been acknowledged as an Outstanding Educational Leader by the state of Victoria in 2003 and was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship in Education in the same year while working in disadvantaged schools across the government education system.

Sue has served as a volunteer teacher of English in a refugee camp for the United Nations. Her international experience extends to five years spent as Executive Director of Citizen Schools New Mexico USA, establishing a model of engagement and support for underserved public schools as part of a national US education reform initiative which included both highly challenged and Native American communities. Sue also codeveloped education support responses for challenged rural communities across New Mexico, as part of a Public Education state government-based improvement initiative. Upon returning to Australia, Sue led the Innovation Program at the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

Sue also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and the board of the Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership Fellowship. Sue is also a member of Global education Leaders Partnership, International Congress School Effectiveness and Improvement, and an invited and sponsored Australian delegate to the World Innovation Summit Education. Sue has also completed course work both at Stanford University in collective impact and Harvard University in education improvement practices. Sue holds formal qualifications in both education practice and education research.

Sue grew up in rural Victoria where her large extended family still resides. She is a dedicated and experienced advocate of education equity and access for all people in Australia, with a strong personal commitment to high quality education provision.