Author/ Speaker

Susan Beilby Magee

Author, Spiritual Teacher, Meditation Guide, Women’s Rights Leader, and Advocate for Conscious Connection

Susan Beilby Magee’s extraordinary journey has moved across the worlds of public service, social justice, spirituality, and the healing arts. A visionary leader whose work has always centered on transformation—of communities, individuals, and our relationship with the world around us—Susan brings a rare perspective shaped by decades of activism, contemplative practice, and profound encounters with the human and natural worlds.

For more than four decades Susan has practiced the healing arts as a hypnotherapist, energy healer, meditation teacher, and spiritual guide. From 2002-2020 she founded and led two meditation circles: first the Washington Circle of Master Healers and then the Circle of Prayer and Meditation at the Washington National Cathedral. 

Susan’s first book, Into the Light: The Healing Art of Kalman Aron, grew from a remarkable personal encounter that began when she was six years old. The book tells the powerful story of artist and Holocaust survivor Kalman Aron, whose journey of survival, creativity, and healing reveals the enduring power of hope, courage, and the human spirit.

Her spiritual path later led her to Africa, where extraordinary encounters with wildlife inspired her newest book, Wild Conversations: The Wisdom of African Animals (available August 2026). Through more than 120 stunning photographs and two dozen reflective vignettes, Susan chronicles her experiences across three transformative safaris. In encounters with lions, elephants, cheetahs, and more than twenty other species, she discovered a profound form of communication—an ancient wisdom conveyed beyond words—that invites readers to reconsider humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

Before dedicating herself fully to spiritual practice and writing, Susan built a distinguished career as a leader in social justice, women’s rights, government, and international business. During the 1970s, she was a prominent figure in the Seattle women’s movement, serving as Co-President of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and President of the Washington State Women’s Political Caucus.

As a contributor to Seattle’s landmark Seattle 2000 Commission, established by Mayor Wes Uhlman to envision the city’s future, Susan authored the commission’s report on Social Justice and Human Resources. Her contributions helped expand the city’s vision beyond traditional urban planning to include equity, human rights, fair employment, social services, and civic participation.

Following this work Mayor Uhlman appointed Susan as Director of the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Women’s Rights, where she served in his cabinet to advance gender equality and address institutional discrimination. Her leadership in Seattle’s reform movement earned national recognition when in 1976 President Gerald Ford appointed her as a White House Fellow. She moved to Washington, D.C., where she served in the office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and later held policy and executive positions within the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Commerce. She went on to become an international business consultant, advising Indian and American corporations interested in doing technology transfers together.

Susan earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Pomona College in International Relations. She has served on numerous boards and committees of non-profit organizations including the White House Fellows Foundation Board, the Leadership Circle of Vital Voices Global Partnership, and the University of California Press Foundation. 

Susan’s work bridges the practical and the mystical—the worlds of public policy and inner transformation, social justice and spiritual awakening, human experience and the wisdom of nature. Her life’s work reflects a deep belief that healing begins with connection: to ourselves, to one another, and to the living world we share.