About

Suzanne J. Forbes is an award-winning school leader, national presenter, and the author of The Guiding Principal: When Teachers Succeed, Students Succeed. Her latest book, The Seven Levels of Teacher Growth: A Practical Guide to the HTPD for Instructional Coaches, builds on more than two decades of experience helping teachers thrive and designing schoolwide systems that lead to lasting improvement.

Known to most as Sue, she’s a straight-talking, teacher-centered leader who believes educator support should feel empowering—not evaluative. Based in Maui, Sue partners with school leaders and instructional coaches across the country to turn professional learning into meaningful, measurable growth. She’s a trusted facilitator with a gift for translating big ideas into clear, sustainable systems.

Whether she’s leading a school, coaching a coach, or writing her next blog, Sue is guided by one core belief:

When teachers succeed, students succeed.