WSU Extension > Susie Craig

Susie Craig

  1. Professor
  2. Area Specialist Food Safety and Health
Email Addressscraig@wsu.edu
LocationKing County Extension
Phone206-910-0528

Education

  • Master of Science in Nutrition, Purdue University, 1975
  • Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Research, Purdue University, 1972

Biography

B. Susie Craig is a Professor with Washington State University Extension in Seattle, Washington. Her work focuses on food safety, STEM-based food science education, and health. Following completion of her undergraduate and graduate studies at Purdue University, she held faculty positions as an Assistant Professor teaching undergraduate courses in Food Science and Nutrition at West Virginia University, West Virginia State University, and the University of Charleston. She later served as Program Leader in Nutrition and Health for Cornell Cooperative Extension and contributed as a field liaison for a mixed-methods study on plant food consumption involving 650 families in Rochester, New York.

Her Extension and outreach work has emphasized:

  • STEM food science education for youth through the National 4-H Council
  • Consumer food safety, including digital outreach, publications, and presentations
  • Development, implementation, and evaluation of the Germ City: Clean Hands, Healthy People program, now active in 39 states
  • Youth and adult education initiatives
  • Contributions to the FDA/USDA Good Agricultural Practices National Team, focusing on worker health and hygiene

Prior to her Extension career, Dr. Craig spent eight years specializing in cognitive restructuring and behavioral intervention. As a cognitive behaviorist at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington, she conducted more than 2,500 hours of closed-group facilitation for a hospital-based lifestyle change program. As a private consultant, she partnered with businesses, government entities, universities, nonprofits, and healthcare organizations to deliver workshops and training on quality of life and workplace well-being.

Dr. Craig is a founding member of the national FDA/USDA Good Agricultural Practices Team, focusing on microbial safety of fresh produce, particularly worker health and hygiene. She has also contributed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Clean Hands Coalition, the Washington State Department of Health’s Partners in Food Safety, and served as faculty liaison for a metropolitan county SNAP-Ed program.

As Director of the Germ City: Clean Hands, Healthy People program, she led its expansion from a local initiative to a nationally recognized program implemented across 39 states. The program has been featured at state and regional fairs, agricultural agencies, hospitals, medical schools including the Mayo Clinic, and Food and Drug Administration offices. Supported by $500,000 from the USDA National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, the program has reached nearly one million participants in Washington State alone. It has received multiple national awards, including the Florence Hall Award and the Excellence in Program Research Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, as well as the Western Deans’ and Directors’ Award. Dr. Craig has also appeared on the NBC Today Show, and the program has been featured in USA Today.

She has presented extensively at national conferences, including the National Science Teachers Association, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Promotion Conference, National Environmental Health Association, International Association of Fairs and Expositions, National Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, National Association of 4-H Extension Agents, and USDA food safety conferences. She is also an invited speaker on cognitive behavioral change and Good Agricultural Practices, emphasizing that food safety begins at the farm level.

With support from the National 4-H Council, Dr. Craig served as project director and lead author of What’s On Your Plate? Exploring Food Science, a STEM curriculum for middle and high school students. The curriculum includes 12 hands-on, 90-minute lessons covering topics such as gluten development, protein coagulation, beverage formulation, and sugar crystallization. Since its launch in May 2014, the program has expanded internationally and was translated into Georgian for use in national education programs in 2022.

Her current work includes a usability study in King County/Seattle examining consumer use of restaurant food safety rating systems, in collaboration with University of Washington students. She also produces a weekly podcast series, Food Safety in a Minute (2019–present), focused on practical consumer food safety education.