Resilience, tenacity, and a strong spiritual foundation helped Dr. Sue Ebbers write a second chapter of her life, which she uses to inspire others and serve as a constant reminder to never give up. As she has navigated life’s challenges, she has also gained the respect and admiration of others, leading to her being named as one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know in 2025.
She is the founder of Change By Design, a performance consultancy which helps businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies work more efficiently. “By aligning processes with outcomes, we can improve their bottom line,” she says.
Whether creating certification and licensure exams, developing customized training, or assessing organizational processes, Ebbers and her team are on the lookout for opportunities to find the perfect solution for complicated problems.
Sue Ebbers, founder of Change By Design; 25 Women You Need to Know for 2025
She has a Ph.D. in Instructional and Performance Systems, but her lived experience has contributed just as much to the expertise she brings to her clients.
“Climbing out of a deep hole of near-homelessness, with a laundry list of true challenges and poverty, to eventually earning my Ph.D. while working three jobs and raising my two sons…” she begins, then pauses. The pause is earned. Change by design in Sue’s life began decades ago, when she decided to take charge of her life and write a new chapter.
Ebbers decided to attend classes at Tallahassee State College and then Florida State University as a way to build a career after years as a stay-at-home mom and a lifetime of childhood trauma.
She made her way through a Master’s degree and eventually a Ph.D. inspired by work she had done earlier in her life. “Dr. Connie Bergquist was my first professional influence,” she said. “In the ’80s I worked for her business, Evaluation Systems Design Inc, as her office manager. It was during that time I realized, as I worked with the Ph.D. professionals there, that what I loved more than anything was to solve problems effectively.”
But her proudest work has been done at home.
“I am thankful to have raised my sons as a single parent in a way that contributed to the great men and business people they have chosen to be in their communities,” she said. “I am also very proud of my relationship with my dear husband, Paul, and the two adult sons he brought to our marriage. Through enduring love, hard work, and time, we have developed a relationship that is persistently deep, forgiving, and loving.”
Paul was by her side in 2022, when Ebbers fought a hard battle against a very aggressive stage-3 triple-negative breast cancer.
“It was a brutal battle, but I am grateful for great physicians,” she said. Last year and this, she has battled additional infections and challenges to her energy level and immune system. “As of right now, I am cancer-free,” she said. “I am happy to say that they caught everything in time, and slowly but surely, I am on the mend. Again!”
Now, Ebber’s work is praised by her clients and she has served on the boards of directors for the American Society for Training and Development, FSU Instructional Systems Alumni Advisory Council, Florida chapter of the Association of Change Management Professionals, University of North Florida Instructional Technology, Training and Development Board, and half a dozen more.
She received the Robert A. Reiser Outstanding Alumni Service Award for the FSU Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies program for two years in a row and in 2023 received the FSU College of Education, Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.
As a volunteer, her insight and passion has been invaluable to the Florida Governor’s Office of Adoption and Child Protection, United Way of the Big Bend, and professional associations.
She mentors women who have faced tough circumstances in their lives to help them overcome what they are facing, and is training to hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim in late September. Her church, St. Thomas More Catholic Church, keeps her grounded and her favorite scripture is Psalm 27.
And now, as a Catholic Christian, a powerful positive influence in her life is English anchoress from the 1300’s, Dame Julian of Norwich. “Her post-near-death interpretations of the visions she had as she lay dying, likely of the Black Plague, are beautiful and encouraging and provide a vision of love,” Sue shares peacefully.
As Ebbers has embraced change, she models for all of us how to design a life that does the same.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 25 Women: Sue Ebbers takes charge, embraces change