Sue Minter ‘79 will deliver Commencement address on June 12

Sue Minter ‘79 will be Moses Brown School's 2014’s Commencement speaker. On Thursday, June 12, 108 graduating seniors will receive diplomas from the Quaker school founded 230 years ago. Commencement traditionally takes place outdoors in the Grove on the Providence campus.

 

“Sue Minter attended Moses Brown during a pivotal time in its history – the transition back to co-education – and in just two short years she became a leader among her peers,” said Matt Glendinning, Head of School. “Quaker values had a profound impact on her then, and they continue to influence her professional work in state government and emergency response.”                                                                            

 

Sue Minter has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors, as a professional planner at the state, local, and international level for the past 20 years. She has been Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) since 2011. She played a leadership role in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene’s catastrophic flooding that year. Following her oversight of VTrans’ emergency response, Minter became Vermont’s Irene Recovery Officer, responsible for implementation of all state recovery efforts, including oversight of federal disaster recovery programs and supporting future resiliency efforts. In the wake of 2013’s severe flooding in Colorado, she led a team from Vermont to assist Colorado’s response effort. She currently supports President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Minter served in the Vermont state legislature for six years. She lives in Waterbury Center, Vermont, is married to writer David Goodman, and is the mother of two children.

 

Minter came to Moses Brown in the second year of the school’s return to co-education, for her junior and senior years. There were eleven girls in the class of 1979. She was the first female Student Senate President, played varsity soccer and lacrosse and was a member of the drama club. After graduating from Moses Brown, she received her BA from Harvard University and her MA in City Planning from MIT. At Harvard, she earned the John Harvard Scholarship for Highest Academic Distinction in 1983 and 1984.