Suzie and her husband Joel
Not sure when the Dems were going to formally announce their new director, but here she is. She has a law degree from USD.
UPDATE
As Chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party I am pleased to announce that Suzanne Jones Pranger will start as the new Executive Director on Monday, Aug. 3.
Suzie is an attorney with experience in Democratic political campaigns and issues. A proud fifth generation South Dakotan, she will bring political experience, an exceptional work ethic, professionalism and passion for the values of our Party to the ED position.
Suzie graduated with high honors from USD School of Law in May of 2014 where she was the Founding Organizer of USD Law School Democrats. She also holds a Masters of Political Science with American Politics and Public Policy Emphasis (Perfect 4.0 GPA, I might add). BA (and another 4.0) was also from USD in May of 2011 with Political Science Major and Minor in Business Administration. She was the USD College Democrats President from 2010-2011.
In the summer of 2009, Suzie was a Congressional Intern in Washington DC working for both Sen. Tim Johnson and Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.
During the 2010 election cycle, she worked as a campaign headquarters intern for Stephanie Herseth Sandlin where she assisted senior campaign staff with fundraising, media interview prep, volunteer outreach, scheduling, and event planning.
During the 2010 SD Legislative Session, she was a Senate Democrat Intern where she was aid to Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem and Caucus Chair Ben Nesselhuf. In the 2011 Legislative Session, she returned to Pierre to serve as the Senate Democratic Caucus Secretary.
Suzie volunteered to help with the original YELL (Young Elected Legislative Leader) programs and drafted all the bills and amendments for our high school student program. She also has experience with the Native Vote Protection program where she oversaw election officials on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in 2012.
In 2014, she was selection as a DNC Hope Institute Fellow. Suzie was one of a total of 40 fellows selected from a nationwide application pool of several hundred to attend the DNC’s comprehensive campaign training program. This intense training emphasized managing national and statewide campaigns, running for office and fundraising.
She has spent the year since graduating from law school clerking for a judge in Sioux Falls. Her contract expired yesterday, July 31. Because that employment precluded her involvement in politics, we have waited until now to announce our selection. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we awaited this announcement. If you’ve read through all of her qualifications, I hope that you agree with me that she was worth the wait.
I believe that Suzie will be with us for many years to come and that she will serve the Democratic Party as an exceptional Executive Director.
Ann
Ann Tornberg,Â
Chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party