Susan MacDonald is the founder of Inspiring New Perspectives, a consulting group focused on empowering school leaders and educators to create learning environments that deeply respect and nurture the possibilities that lie within each teacher, child, and parent.
Susan’s passion and expertise for creating positive change are reflected in her professional speaking and coaching, and in her books, Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership and Inspiring Professional Growth.
A lifelong learner, Susan leverages the latest research and literature, allowing her to provide educators and leaders with tools, strategies, practical approaches, and tangible steps to chart new paths to enable them to impact positive change in their organizations.
With a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and multiple professional coaching certifications, Susan has been developing and delivering inspirational, research-based courses, keynotes and workshops for over 25 years throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, Jamaica, Wales, and Ireland.
Susan’s background spans a wide range of experiences, including being director of a Reggio-inspired preschool program, adjunct faculty at Lesley University, Wheelock College, and Southern New Hampshire University, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts licensing supervisor. She is a past president of the Boston Area Reggio Inspired Network and past vice president of the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children.
Susan recharges her energy by reading, cooking, walking, traveling, or simply enjoying life’s rich everyday moments with her husband Patrick and their four children.
Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge Finalist, 2019
Think of an experience with Susan as a collaborative mastermind with an inspiring, empowering leader with a fresh take on your leadership and the willingness to share wisdom to propel you to the next level.
With the pedagogic presence of an award-winning author and the research-based leadership insights of an Early Childhood Education professional, Susan inspires action and helps individuals and teams grow in the following ways:
Susan has successfully delivered workshops and keynote presentations designed to inspire educational professionals to weave new approaches, ideas, and strategies into their daily work. She devotes the time and attention needed to create engaging and insightful professional development experiences for individuals, small groups, and large audiences.
She prides herself on customizing her keynotes, retreats, and workshop presentations to meet the unique goals and needs of the participants.
As a professionally certified coach, Susan works with educational leaders to create opportunities for them to develop and execute a vision that aligns with their core beliefs.
Her deep knowledge of early childhood quality standards and her diverse professional background give her a unique ability to successfully guide leaders through the coaching process to overcome challenges and bring their vision and goals to life in concrete ways.
Susan’s books are aim to inspiring leaders with a real sense of new possibilities and empower them with tools to create high-quality learning environments fueled by positive, engaging energy.
Her first book, “Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership” — winner of the AAP Revere Awards (Classroom: Professional Resources-School Climate) — lays out strategies to support program leaders in discovering new ways to reduce the levels of stress on themselves and their staff, and move into a unified, engaging system for leading with passion, intention, and purpose.
Her second book, “Inspiring Professional Growth”, provides a framework for establishing a meaningful, nurturing, and impactful professional development system that supports educator in an ever-evolving early child education landscape. It lays the foundation for establishing a growth culture that leverages new leadership skills and empowering strategies to motivate, and engage early childhood teachers.
Susan is currently working on a new book focused on providing leaders with a wide range of strategies and activities to energize the professional learning experiences they provide.
