Susan Snelick
Susan Snelick is the President of Northern Pennsylvania Regional College, where she leads one of the nation’s most innovative rural higher education models. In this role, she is dedicated to expanding access to affordable, flexible education and workforce training across northern Pennsylvania. Under her leadership, the college continues to grow its impact by serving students and communities across multiple counties through accessible learning opportunities designed to strengthen local economies and create brighter futures.
Before becoming president in 2021, Susan built a distinguished career in workforce and community development. She served as Executive Director of Workforce Solutions for North Central PA, where she helped administer workforce initiatives across six rural counties and provided leadership to the regional PA CareerLink system. Earlier in her career, she was the Workforce Investment Board Director for the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, where she spent nearly a decade guiding programs that supported job training, career pathways, and economic growth throughout the region.
Susan earned her Bachelor of Applied Science in Marketing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. With more than three decades of experience in workforce development and public service, she remains deeply committed to strengthening rural communities and expanding educational opportunities. Driven by a passion for service, Susan believes that students in rural areas deserve the same access to education, resources, and career pathways as those in more urban regions, and she continues to champion initiatives that help level the playing field for the communities she serves.
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania logo
• Health and Wellness Initiative at Northern Pennsylvania Regional College
What do you attribute your success to?
I genuinely have a positive attitude. I trust and believe in people. I want to be supportive, I want to see people do their best and shine. I enjoy the work, and I think that's critical too. You have to enjoy and love what you're doing in order to be successful and be positive and supportive.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Years ago, I was in an interim leadership role and I was talking with another woman in a leadership role about all these ideas I had if I was chosen for the position. She looked at me and said, why are you waiting? She said, you need to do it now! She told me, now is your opportunity to shine and prove that you can. Don't wait for someone else to say yes, go forward, do it now. That was great advice, really good advice. I took that advice, and I don't know if that was why, but I did end up in that position and was chosen for that role.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If you're focusing on this industry or any industry, you have to believe in the why of what you're doing, and not so much focus on yourself as an individual. If you focus on the why, you're in it for the right reasons. You're in it to make a difference, to collaborate, and work with stakeholders. Create positive cultures and environments, keep negativity out. Don't get swept up in all the 'we can't do this, we can't do that' and all the negative rhetoric that surrounds us on a regular basis. Really just focus on keeping on the positives and not yourself. I think the opportunities will come naturally if you're in it for the right reasons. And never, ever rule yourself out. There are so many people I talk to on a regular basis who are like, oh, I can't do that, oh, I don't have this, I'm missing that, and it's unfortunate because I think there's a lot of missed opportunities. Always figure out if it's truly a passion and where you want to serve. Figure out how you fit the opportunity and let them make that decision. Convince them why you should and why you fit the model, but never, ever rule yourself out.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In higher education, the landscape is changing. Enrollments are declining, and population is declining, so there's challenge with all of that. But education is so important. It's critical to ensuring we have opportunities and educated people in all industries, because that's where innovation and creativity and growth happen. We can't be afraid of jumping into higher education, but we have to continue to look for relevance. You have to be willing to take risks, you have to believe in what you're doing, and figure out the how, and surround yourself with people who believe in the same sort of things that you believe in.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values would be that I trust, I believe in honesty, I believe in admitting when you make mistakes. I believe in allowing people to fail up. I value integrity and all of those things. Family is my number one priority.