Suzanne Ritter, Ph.D., has worked at Columbus Academy since 1999 and, after working many years as the upper school counselor, will begin her new role as co-director of Student Support Services, alongside Heather Levingston, at the start of the 2022-23 school year. She also helps coordinate the upper school’s child support team, which involves helping to make accommodations for students with disabilities and interventions for all students who may be struggling academically or personally. In addition, Suzanne currently provides training for our faculty through the Positive Education program, which combines the concepts and research from positive psychology with best practices from education with the goal of supporting faculty and student well-being and achievement. She also helps coordinate Academy’s suicide prevention initiatives and is on the Central Ohio crisis team for postvention of school crises. Suzanne was the 2017 recipient of our Dream Big Grant, which allowed for her to travel to Australia’s Geelong School to study Positive Education and visit Melbourne, before traveling to Perth in Western Australia to visit family. The grant also allowed for her to travel monthly to the Washington D.C. area to obtain certification as an applied positive psychologist. Suzanne previously worked as our middle school psychologist, joining Academy after 19 combined years of experience between time spent in South-Western City Schools, The Ohio State University Office of Disability Services, as a certified rehab counselor with Goodwill Industries, Traveler's Insurance, and with a small consulting firm. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Dayton, as well as a M.A. in rehab counseling and Ph.D. in school psychology from The Ohio State University. Suzanne and her husband, Randy, have two children: Thomas, a senior at Bowling Green State University, and Natalie ’11, a graduate of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and current master’s program student in health care administration at Ohio State.
Suzanne’s favorite thing about Columbus Academy
“I love the beauty of the campus, the friendships I have made over the years, and the passion of the faculty and staff in providing the best experience and education for the students. I have met so many resilient students, and have truly been honored and humbled to have been able to be part of their experience here at CA.”
Little-known fact
“I was born in Baltimore and also lived on Long Island as a child. I grew up in the restaurant business. My dad owned Deibel's in German Village (now Barcelona's), which was a German Restaurant and one of the most popular bars in Columbus in the 1970s and 1980s, best known for Esther, the accordion player. I started working washing dishes in junior high, and worked there until I was married.”
Favorite sports team
“Not a huge sports fan, but I do always follow UD Flyers!”
- B.A. University of Dayton , Psychology
- M.A. The Ohio State University , Rehabilitation Counseling
- Ph.D. The Ohio State University , School Psychology
