A retired commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, Suzanne Patrick is a fourth-generation military officer who has had overseas postings in Beijing, Berlin, Delhi, Seoul and Warsaw. Suzanne, her Father, and her brothers have over a century of uniformed service in the U.S. Navy and Army.

In 2001, she was appointed by President George W. Bush to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. She held this position until 2005, and expanded the military’s industrial base while improving transparency, accountability and efficiency.

Early in her career, Suzanne worked as a civil servant for the Naval Air Systems Command and for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. Under President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, Suzanne worked as congressional liaison for the Navy R&D budget. Later, Suzanne worked as an aerospace and investment analyst and fund manager.

She went on to found and serve as principal at her own consulting business, Suzanne D. Patrick & Company, which provided investment banking and technology search and strategy consulting services to corporate clients. She also served as a member of The National Academy of Sciences Committee on Scientific Communication and National Security.

Wikipedia Link Suzanne Patrick

With this background, Suzanne understands that the military families and facilities of Virginia’s 2nd Congressional district are the backbone of the local economy as well as the nation’s fighting forces.

With her knowledge of the Pentagon and Congressional budgeting, Suzanne will be able to fairly balance the need for deficit reduction without damaging interests critical to the district and to our nation’s global standing.

As a business executive well-versed in global economies, she understands the importance of Virginia’s port to American trade and regional businesses. She will promote fair trade and the infrastructure and high quality jobs needed for our port to flourish.

A Virginia Beach resident since 1991, and as primary caretaker to her aging parents, Suzanne learned firsthand the importance of Social Security and Medicare. She pledges to represent all of those who can least represent themselves: children and the elderly.

As a centrist Democrat, she will be a bipartisan voice working to protect, promote, and represent the core issues and values of the second district.

A 1977 graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, Suzanne went on to earn a Masters degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. Named Washington Woman magazine’s “Woman of the Year” in 1986, Suzanne later returned to her alma mater in 2002 as a recipient of the Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Alumnae Achievement Award, and again in 2008 as the College’s commencement speaker.

Suzanne has been an engaged advocate for other women, mentoring young women pursuing careers in science, engineering, and the military and speaking on women’s issues internationally.