Susan Culliney Gadamus grew up watching birds in her backyard in Hawaii. She graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2004. After college, Susan enjoyed working as a field biologist and environmental educator for several years in Hawaii, Oregon, California, Maine, and Florida before attaining a master's degree in conservation biology from Colorado State University in 2011. While researching the seed dispersal abilities of the native Hawaiian Crow for her thesis, Susan realized that the questions on her mind were about how to use existing knowledge to conserve native species like the Hawaiian Crow. She subsequently attended Lewis & Clark Law School and graduated in 2014 with a certificate in Environmental & Natural Resources Law. Susan found her way to Alaska where she worked for five years in the legal and policy arenas. She lives with her family in Anchorage.