Spotlight of the Week: Susan Lewis Kaylor

This week’s spotlight highlights the extraordinary work and lifelong dedication of Susan Lewis Kaylor, a distinguished leader in Ohio’s child and family mental health landscape. As President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Vincent Family Services (SVFS) since 2017, Susan leads a team of more than 150 pediatric behavioral health professionals who provide prevention, intervention, and treatment services for children and families across Ohio. Her leadership has strengthened the delivery of trauma-informed care to children facing emotional, behavioral, and psychological challenges, especially those with limited access to support.

Susan’s journey in public service spans more than two decades and reflects a deep and consistent commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable populations. She began her career championing the rights and well-being of older adults as Communications Director at the Ohio Department of Aging. From there, she expanded her expertise in policy, public affairs, and intergovernmental relations through her senior leadership role at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

In the late 1990s, Susan served as Director of The Greater Columbus Project at the Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio, where she led the development of the first local policy agenda focused on the needs of children in Columbus. In that role, she built bipartisan coalitions of business, civic, faith, and policy leaders and brought public attention to the urgent, unmet needs of children in central Ohio.

Susan’s next major leadership chapter came at the ADAMH Board of Franklin County, where she served for nearly 14 years, ultimately as Vice President of Performance and Management and later as Chief Administrative Officer. In those roles, she led strategic planning, human resources, performance improvement, public affairs, housing initiatives, and system accountability. She played a vital role in advancing permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental health and addiction challenges and helped design tools that linked individual performance with organizational impact and strategic goals.

Her vast experience and integrated understanding of community mental health systems laid the foundation for her transition to St. Vincent Family Services, an institution with more than 140 years of service in central Ohio. Under her leadership, SVFS has continued to evolve to meet the growing and complex needs of diverse families, ensuring that children in crisis receive high-quality care regardless of their socioeconomic background.

Susan is widely respected not only as a skilled administrator but also as a systems thinker and advocate who works to align policy, community engagement, and behavioral health practices in service of child safety, equity, and mental wellness.

Education and Professional Training

• Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management, John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, The University of Akron

• Executive Leadership Training, Center for Creative Leadership

• Graduate, Leadership Columbus

Susan Lewis Kaylor’s impact can be felt throughout the child welfare and mental health sectors in Ohio. Her leadership exemplifies what it means to create and sustain systems of protection, healing, and hope for children and families who are too often underserved or overlooked. With a career that bridges advocacy, strategy, and service delivery, she stands as a model of compassionate and effective leadership in the field of child safeguarding.