Susan Just was born in Brisbane, Queensland. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland, she also holds a Master of Educational Administration (University of New England) and in 2009 completed an Advanced Management Course at Harvard University.

An educator for over 30 years, she began her teaching career in government schools in Queensland, Susan went on to gain extensive teaching and leadership experience in the independent school sector in Australia; in addition, she has been the Principal of three independent girls’ schools in Queensland, Canberra and Victoria.

Susan’s strong area of interest is in curriculum and looking forward to the future education needs of girls. After becoming Principal of Lauriston Girls’ School in 2010 she focused on advancing the School’s STEM program from Kindergarten to Year 12. In 2014 she achieved an Australian first by establishing the FabLearn Lab in collaboration with the Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education.

Offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in Years 11 and 12, Susan has been Chair of the IB Victorian and Tasmania School Principals group and worked closely with the IBO as a member of the IB Schools Advisory Group made up of Principals from around the globe.

She spent significant time reviewing and enhancing the School’s signature Howqua program for Year 9 students and further strengthening academic programs to provide students with a strong foundation for Years 10–12.

Student welfare and wellbeing was another area where Susan has overseen significant change, with strong support provided to Year 9 students during their Howqua year, and a range of targeted wellbeing and resilience programs offered from Kindergarten to Year 12. Susan focused on further developing the already strong relationships Lauriston has with its community, encouraging feedback from parents, staff, students and alumnae.

Throughout her time at Lauriston, Susan worked with School Council to develop a comprehensive 10-year Masterplan to support the School’s aspiration to grow the breadth of its educational and experiential learning programs and provide world-class facilities for sport, health, music and the arts.

After fifteen years of leadership, Susan retired as Principal of Lauriston Girls’ School at the end of 2025. She will continue to contribute to education as a School Council member of an independent school.