Susan is a pioneer and thought leader in future mobility strategies. She was among the first to observe, research, and write about changing dynamics in shared mobility and the likely scenarios through which automated vehicles will gain prominence. She is an internationally recognized expert in mobility and the sharing economy and co-directs the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. She is also an adjunct professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She served as the Policy and Behavioral Research Program Leader at California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways from 2003 to 2007 and as a special assistant to the Director's Office of the California Department of Transportation from 2001 to 2004.
She has a Ph.D. in ecology, focusing on the energy and environmental aspects of transportation, from UC Davis and an M.S. in public policy analysis from the University of Rochester. After completing her master's degree, she worked as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. From 2000 to 2001, she was a post-doctoral researcher at UC Berkeley. She has authored 62 journal articles, over 120 reports and proceedings articles, 12 book chapters, and co-edited two books. Her research projects on carsharing, smart parking, and older mobility have received national awards. She received the 2017 Roy W. Crum award from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) for her distinguished achievements in transportation research. In May 2016, she was named one of the top 10 academic thought leaders in transportation by the Eno Transportation Foundation.
She was chair of the Emerging and Innovative Public Transport and Technologies Committee of the TRB from 2004 to 2011 and is subcommittee chair for the Shared-Use Vehicle Public Transport Systems of TRB (2013 to present). She will join the TRB Executive Committee in January 2019.