Susan Gedrick first stepped into her role as Executive Director of Lawyers Clearinghouse in the fall of 2020, following the retirement of long-time Executive Director Maribeth Perry.
As Executive Director, Susan works closely with staff and the board to set and achieve goals, create and execute programming, fundraise, handle relationships with donors and funders, and manage the Clearinghouse’s budget.
But Susan’s journey at Lawyers Clearinghouse didn’t start in 2020. She first became affiliated with the organization in 2017, when she became the manager of the Access to Justice Fellows Program.
By the time she joined the Clearinghouse, Susan already had an extensive history with nonprofits. She previously worked with programs like Grab the Torch, where she served as the Summer Institute Director, and Teen Ink, where she worked as the Director of Special Programs. She said the positive impact nonprofit organizations have on the community inspired her to continue pursuing work in the sector.
“Lawyers Clearinghouse was just the perfect fit for me, in that it was a small organization focusing on direct representation,” she said.
In 2018, Susan became the Clearinghouse’s first ever Director of Development, honing her skills as a fundraiser and relationship-builder while also continuing to manage the Fellows Program.
Susan’s time managing the Fellows Program and the Clearinghouse’s development efforts quickly positioned her as a top prospect to replace Maribeth when she announced her retirement after nearly 25 years at the helm.
Maribeth and several board members encouraged Susan to apply for the executive director position, having recognized her dedication to the Clearinghouse’s mission and her substantial understanding of the organization’s day-to-day operations.
Reflecting on this period of transition—which occurred in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic—Susan said she elected to pursue the Executive Director job because of her belief in the Clearinghouse’s work and its dedicated board and staff.
“I had a really good sense of the organization,” she said. “And I was really excited to take the Clearinghouse through the pandemic.”
Taking over leadership amid a worldwide pandemic could have been a challenging transition for anyone, but Susan said she had the right support to help her navigate through her early months in the role.
“We had a wonderful executive director for 25 years, Maribeth Perry, who stuck with the transition for a couple of months longer because of the pandemic,” she said. “I was very grateful for that.”
With organizations and companies facing financial crises during the pandemic, Susan said it was hard to anticipate what would be impacted and if necessary funding would still be available. However, Lawyers Clearinghouse has nearly doubled its revenue in her time as executive director, increasing its budget from just under $500,000 to over $900,000.
“I think it just goes to show that we have a really amazing organization that people know well, and our funders are very loyal to us,” Susan said. “As long as we are loyal to our programming and keep our basic programming in line with our mission . . . our supporters will be there.”
In addition to enhancing programming, one of Susan’s goals with the budget increase was to improve pay equity for staff, both in relation to the market and internally. She recently achieved this in 2025, following a salary study conducted by an outside consultant.
Another primary goal of Susan’s was to strengthen the Clearinghouse’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, which she did with the assistance of current Board President Tonysha Taylor. This included hiring DEI Fellow Lex Brown—now Culture & Systems Manager—in 2021.
“It just seemed like a natural movement to really focus on DEI with both the staff and the board, and become strong in our mission in that regard,” Susan said. “I think we’ve done a really good job.”
Under Susan’s leadership the Clearinghouse also continues to successfully fundraise via its Annual Meeting, held every September. Susan said the past three meetings have raised more money than the Clearinghouse has ever raised before.
“In my first five years as executive director, I’ve worked really hard with staff and the board to establish growth within the firm foundation that we already have,” she said.
Susan hopes to increase staff capacity within the next five years in an effort to reach more clients. The Clearinghouse is also currently undergoing an organization-wide strategic plan to help guide its growth.
Recently, the Clearinghouse hired a dedicated Access to Justice Fellows Program Manager, Chris City, who has taken over running the program, allowing Susan to focus more intently on the organization as a whole.
“That gives [the Fellows Program] huge room to grow,” Susan said. “I could easily see our number of Fellows doubling, too.”
Susan said she is grateful for the support she has received from staff, board members, and funders over the past five years, adding that this supportive environment is the foundation that allows Lawyers Clearinghouse to effectively achieve its mission to provide life-changing pro bono legal services to people in need and the nonprofits that serve them.
“We’re helping those who are marginalized and vulnerable within the community and hopefully helping them stay and feel a part of the community as well,” she said.
