Susan Wolf Turnbull
Susan Wolf Turnbull has dedicated over 50 years to public service, combining political leadership, community activism, philanthropy, and professional experience. Susan is most known for her role in grassroots electoral politics both in Maryland and nationwide.
After volunteer work on several local and statewide campaigns, in 1990 she was elected to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee which she chaired from 1993-1994. Her statewide experience in the Maryland Democratic Party introduced her to grassroots volunteers and was vital in her election to represent Maryland as a Democratic National Committeewoman from 1992–2011.
At the DNC, she worked tirelessly to push the Democratic Party to provide greater leadership opportunities for women. As the elected Chair of the DNC Women’s Caucus from 1997–2003 and National Chair of the DNC Women’s Leadership Forum from 2002–2005, she was instrumental in building a vibrant political infrastructure for women. This work propelled her to be appointed Deputy Chair of the DNC in 2003 and elected Vice Chair in 2005. In these roles, she was one the lead organizers of the women’s events at three Democratic Conventions and was a Democratic Party speaker at events in more than three dozen states and across the world. Susan was a Democratic spokesperson and appeared on both international and national television and was a commentator on talk radio hundreds of times. She is especially proud that she helped lead the DNC when the “50 state strategy” brought new energy to grassroots Democrats and successfully helped win Democratic control of the House and Senate and elect President Barack Obama. After the 2008 election, Susan was tapped to use her extensive campaign expertise to help re-elect Governor Martin O’Malley and Senator Barbara Mikulski as the first female Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party in twenty years. She campaigned across Maryland with candidates up and down the ballot in every Maryland county.
Recognizing that the “women’s bench” for elective office in Maryland was lacking, and as a national Board Member of Emerge America, two months after she left her Democratic Party position, she brought a team together and co-founded Emerge Maryland, an organization that since 2012 has recruited and trained a powerful network of Democratic women that have been elected in record numbers to local, state and federal office. In 2018 she became the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor of Maryland.
Over the years, Susan has also been actively involved in the nonprofit and philanthropic arena. She served as Board Chair of Integrity First for America, which played a critical role in filing and winning the ground-breaking lawsuit against the conspirators of the 2017 Charlottesville disturbances. She is one of only two women who has chaired two national Jewish organizational members of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. During her tenure as Chair of Jewish Women International (formerly known as B’nai B’rith Women) the storied organization was re-imagined, focusing on domestic violence and women’s empowerment by developing a high-level Board of Directors and Young Leadership Network. As Board Chair of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs she participated in critical meetings and led numerous national webinars with President Obama and other high-level Administration officials during negotiations of the 2025 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA).
Susan has been a Board Member and Ambassador Council Member of Jewish Social Service Agency of Greater Washington since the early1980’s. Additionally, over the years she has served on everal non-profit boards including Hillel International, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, the Bolechow Jewish Heritage Society, and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland.
She has been engaged in numerous successful advocacy efforts, the most personal was following her Mother’s death which resulted in advancing breast cancer screening in Maryland nursing Homes. Professionally, Susan has worked for more than 20 years as a Congressional staffer and consultant, assisting members of Congress in identifying federal grant opportunities for local governments and nonprofits. She also established one of the first woman-owned Congressional fundraising firms in the early 1980s and worked as a commercial space planner and interior designer for more than two decades, including extensive pro bono work for nonprofits.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Susan moved to Maryland in 1973 to attend the University of Maryland for graduate school and is a “Golden Terp” as a result of her 1975 M.A. in Urban Studies. She also earned a B.S. in Urban Affairs from the University of Cincinnati, and a B.A. in Interior Design from Marymount University. She and her husband of 49 years, Bruce, call Bethesda, Maryland home, where they raised their two sons and they now delight in the adventures of four young grandchildren.