Suzanne Stokes Vieth has been appointed Director of State Relations and Outreach at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). 

The state relations and outreach director is responsible for cultivating and managing the Association’s network of state executives, tracking emerging higher education issues at the state level, and organizing and coordinating coalitions within the NAICU membership.
 
“Suzanne brings to NAICU a vast array of experience in direct and grassroots advocacy at both the state level and on Capitol Hill,” said NAICU President Barbara K. Mistick, D.M. “Our members will benefit greatly from her experience, energy and enthusiasm for our work on behalf of private, nonprofit colleges and universities and the students we serve.
 
Vieth joins NAICU from the Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers where she served as deputy director for government affairs.  Among her many accomplishments in that position, she planned and led congressional fly-ins and organized scientific briefings for congressional audiences.
 
Previously, she served as the manager of congressional relations for the Association of Public Television Stations, where she worked extensively with the 158 public television licensees distributed across the country and helped establish the Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus, to which she served as liaison.
 
In addition, Vieth operated a consulting business serving a number of community-based organizations with grassroots development, grant writing, strategic planning, editorial writing and editing, and meeting facilitation. She began her career as a legislative specialist in the office of former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). Vieth is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science.