Susan Biggs is Acting Chief Executive Officer of Adara Development, an international development organisation with expertise in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) and Remote Community Development (RCD).
Susan originally joined the Adara team in 2010 as the CEO for 7.5 years till 2017. In October 2024, she returned to stand in for the current CEO, Madelaine Vaughan, during her parental leave.
In 1986, Susan began a career in social justice when she co-founded and ran Families At Work for 12 years, a consultancy business eventually employing 50 people, which gave advice and provided childcare services to workplaces supporting working families. In 1990 Allen & Unwin published her book ‘Time on Time Out, Flexible Work Solutions to Keep your Life in Balance’.
In 2001 she became the Deputy Director of Australia’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency for 5 years. She was the Chair of the NSW Premiers Council for Women from 1997 to 2003 during Bob Carr’s Premiership. In 2005 she accepted the role of National Strategic Policy Manager for the NZ Human Rights Commission and moved her family to Wellington New Zealand for five years. During this time, she was the Chair of both Standards Australia and Standards NZ committees to develop Gender Inclusive Job Evaluation Standards.
In 2013, Susan was a finalist in the NSW Telstra Businesswomen’s Awards for her contributions to the government and community sectors. From 2019 to 2023 she was the Executive Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation and has been a member of the Foundation’s Council since then.
She has a BA, Post Grad qualifications in business, and in education, and an MA in International Relations.