Susan Nogan

Charles Koch is worth $56 billion. Betsy DeVos? $2 billion.

The enemies of public education have nearly bottomless pockets, and equally outsized influence in state and federal governments. 

And what do NEA members have? Well, Susan Nogan for one.

For the most part, the people who wish to divide and conquer, work in the shadows. Susan finds them there. Let’s call her the queen of darkness. 

“The biggest part of what I do is monitor the adversaries of public education and organized labor, and then help our affiliates and members turn that information into action,” says Susan. 

She started out as a policy expert in school vouchers, and what she learned is that the pro-voucher people are also behind book bans, anti-LGBT laws, voter suppression, deregulation of business, and more.

The more Susan uncovers, the more that NEA and its state affiliates are able to assemble and activate more effective coalitions of like-minded organizations. “We’ve become much more strategic in how we use this information,” she says. 

Susan also works to research the private companies frequently hired to replace unionized bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other staff. For example, in Texas, she took a hard look at what appeared to be a “mom and pop” transportation company and discovered it actually was owned by a Canadian hedge fund. With that, the deal died.