Susan Cunningham
Member, Arlington County Board
Since taking office in 2024, County Board member Susan Cunningham has been a champion for climate resilience, affordable housing, community connection through youth programming and arts, fiscal balance, and government transparency.
Locally, Cunningham co-leads the Board’s Audit Committee and serves as Board liaison to the Columbia Pike Partnership, Community Oversight Board and Community Services Board. She also leads the Arts, C2E2 (Climate Change, Energy and Environment), JFAC (Joint Facilities Advisory Commission), Park & Recreation and Sports Commissions.
Regionally, Cunningham serves on the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) and Northern Virginia Conservation Trust. She represents Arlington on the transportation and climate efforts at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), serving on the Region Forward Coalition, National Capital Regional Transportation Planning Board, and Climate Change, Energy & Environment Policy Committee. Cunningham is also a liaison to the Virginia Association of Counties.
As the Chief Executive Officer of C2 Change Solutions, Cunningham provides interim executive leadership to organizations navigating rapid change. She served as interim CEO of AHC (now Affordable Homes & Communities) and as interim Executive Director of Arlington Thrive. Cunningham held executive roles at the Department of the Treasury and McKinsey & Company.
Prior to her Board service, Cunningham was a founding member of the Arlington Joint Facilities Advisory Commission, chaired the Dorothy Hamm Middle School building committee, and co-chaired the Stratford Historic Site Historic Interpretation Committee. She co-chairs St. Mary's Episcopal Outreach, leads a teen Girl Scout troop, and welcomes refugee families. Cunningham has served as a board member for ChildTrends, the Fishing School, GreenHOME, the SEED Foundation, and See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou School.
Cunningham earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Yale University and was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malawi. She and her husband have two teenage daughters who have attended Arlington Public Schools.