Susan Clough

Susan Sebesta Clough (March 11, 1945 – January 1, 2024) was the personal executive secretary to President Jimmy Carter. She also worked for him prior to his presidency.

Prior to secretarial work Clough married a 22-year-old Stanley Clough when she was 16 and had her two children, Doug and Carol Ann, prior to turning 18. She left her husband when she was 18 and began looking for a job while raising Doug and Carol. After studying for one year at Fresno City College, she found herself with no marketable skills. She was receiving only $200 per month from her ex-husband, and struggled financially. However, Clough was ambitious and intelligent. She was a Mensa member, and could play piano and classical guitar, make clothes, and was an avid reader of nonfiction. She also enjoyed playing competitive games.

As secretary After completing a secretarial course, she found a job at Fort Bragg, N.C. Her ex-husband had been stationed there, and her father was a retired Army colonel. She quit her job there partially "because all my bosses were propositioning me." She then moved to Atlanta and became a legal secretary.