When she was a young girl, Dr. Susan O. Schall exhibited a natural affinity for mathematics and the sciences. Over time, she desired to enter the field of engineering. Upon attending college, she matriculated in the State University of New York at Fredonia, receiving a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1981. From there, she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 1982, Master of Science in industrial engineering in 1986 and Doctor of Philosophy in industrial engineering in 1988. In 1989, she became an ASQ Quality Engineer. In 2016, she became an ASQ Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence. She is also a Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Dr. Schall founded SOS Consulting, LLC, in 2004, where she now excels as the founder and lead consultant. She founded her first consultancy in 1999, titled Susan O. Schall Process Improvement Consulting, where she served as president until 2002. From there, she became the methodology director of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, Inc., for two years before commencing SOS Consulting. Alongside her consulting, Dr. Schall is an authorized partner of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team and Everything DSC. Additionally, she is a past board of directors member and served on the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc. From 1997 to 1998, she also flourished as a technical superintendent of the Control Systems Engineering group for DuPont Engineering Polymers.
Engaged in her community as well, Dr. Schall is a former member of the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, and previously served on the Project Lead the Way Partnership Committee with Warren County Public Schools. She was lay leader and finance chair of the Front Royal United Methodist Church. She was founding chair and internet liaison for the Northern Shenandoah Valley section of ASQ. Likewise, she is a past president, vice president and board of directors member of the Penn State Engineering Society.
Dr. Schall has contributed myriad articles to professional journals, including “Is Your Organization Healthy Enough for Six Sigma?” in 2015. In light of her business contributions, she was the recipient of the Engineering Excellence Bronze and Silver Awards from DuPont Engineering in 1990 and 1992, respectively, and the Medallion Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers in 2018, who also elected her as a Fellow of their organization in 2020. Furthermore, Dr. Schall has been honored with a plethora of alumni awards from Pennsylvania State University.