As a pageant and corporate interview coach for the past 12 years, Susan Downs has over 20 years of judging experience at the state and local level in various pageant systems. She also brings personal experience to her role as coach, as her daughter, Deidre Downs, was crowned Miss America in 2005.
Susan holds a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Samford University and a Master’s in Education degree from the University of Louisville. In addition to her extensive background in educational leadership, she is a former executive director of a non-profit foundation. Her most recent experience in the Miss America system was as director of the Miss Metropolitan and Miss Steel City pageants, local preliminary pageants to Miss Alabama.
In her early career, she founded a model U.N. program for middle school students that expanded statewide and won multiple regional and national awards. She also worked extensively with the planning and grassroots efforts of the Curing Childhood Cancer license plate, an Alabama specialty plate that has raised millions for childhood cancer research. She currently resides in Birmingham and has two children and one grandchild, and she enjoys reading and architectural design.
