Sue Miller has been involved with early childhood programs for over 20 years. She is the co-founder and former Executive Director of Family Building Blocks, the Relief Nursery serving Marion and Polk counties. She helped found the Marion-Polk Early Learning Hub and chaired its Board of Directors for three years. She was appointed to the Governor’s Early Learning Design Team in 2011 and subsequent Accountability Hub Work Group (2012) that helped develop the concept for building an early learning system through coordinated, community-based services. In early learning, Ms. Miller’s primary focus has been to close the opportunity gap by serving young children and their families who are furthest from opportunity.
Ms. Miller was elected as the first woman mayor of Salem and served in that office for six years. She also has served on various boards of trustees including the Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Salem Hospital, and Abiqua School. Ms. Miller has received recognition for her community service through a variety of awards including First Citizen of Salem, Chamber of Commerce; Oregon Children’s Award for a Local Leader, Oregon Commission on Children and Families; Dick Alexander Award, The Children’s Institute; and the Compton Award for Extraordinary Service from a Member of the Community to the Bar and the Judicial System, Marion County Bar Association. Ms. Miller received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Smith College and earned a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
