Susan Hayman
Senior Associate
Susan joined Ross Strategic in February 2021 as a Senior Associate and CertifiedTM Professional Facilitator. She began her 30+ year career as a field-going public land and resource manager with the USDA Forest Service, becoming fluent across a wide spectrum of natural resource and environmental issues before entering the private sector. Susan’s professional practice focuses on facilitation, assessment, strategic planning, conflict resolution, and collaborative decision-making with local, state, and federal agencies, tribal governments, and non-profit organizations. She is skilled at synthesizing information, building relationships, and finding areas of agreement among those with diverse and often polarized interests. She enables people to constructively bring their passions, interests, and expertise to the table to develop durable solutions to challenging environmental and natural resource issues.
Susan has worked extensively at the intersection of science, policy, and management on national initiatives and throughout the western United States. She is particularly known for her effective facilitation of landscape-scale species and habitat conservation, watershed restoration, environmental cleanup, and wildland fire initiatives, as well as collaborative land management planning on public lands administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service. She is experienced and effective working with complex issues related to “charismatic” species in the West, including anadromous fish, bighorn sheep, and Greater Sage-grouse.
Originally from Nebraska, Susan lived in five western states before moving to the Puget Sound region in 2016. Her favorite place is anywhere outdoors where she can enjoy gardening, flyfishing, hiking, and playing in the snow. She is a married mother of two amazing “science-guys” and their equally amazing spouses.