Confronting the School Dropout Crisis: Insights and Interventions From a Former Dropout

About Susan Bowman

Susan Bowman has an Ed.S. in Counselor Education from the University of South Carolina. She worked as a secondary school counselor a licensed professional counselor and social worker specializing in helping troubled teens and their families. She also worked as a Title I counselor for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and started a non-profit organization to help incarcerated youth. She has conducted seminars throughout the U.S. and abroad for educators on creative strategies for working with troubled adolescents. In 2005 the GED Testing Service awarded Susan with its highest honor the Cornelius P. Turner Award named for the founder of the GED Testing Program. This award is presented annually to a GED graduate who has made outstanding contributions to society in education justice health public service and social welfare. Susan was co-founder of Developmental Resources an educational consulting company that provided national and international seminars and conferences. She was also co-founder of YouthLight Inc. an educational publishing company. Susan is currently co-owner of YouthHope Consulting LLC and consults and publishes books on how to work with troubled children and adolescents. She has been interviewed by the Arizona Tribune and the Wall Street Journal and numerous radio stations across the country. Her book on self-injury was recognized in USA Today. She has authored and co-authored more than twenty books and programs. Her memoir Breaking Free: A Teenage Runaways Story of Survival and Triumph is about her personal journey which started when she dropped out of eighth grade and ran away from home. By age nineteen after having her third child she finally broke free of the toxic relationship with her daughters father and had to depend on welfare as her only means of financial support. She struggled as a teen mom to complete her education and make a better life for her and her daughters. With the help of a mentor she received her GED and then went on to pursue several college degrees. Susan can be reached at sbowman@youthlightbooks.com.