Susan Richards has been living full-time on Nantucket since 2011, after 45 years of annual (or more) visits to her family’s island summer home.  She began visiting Our Island home with her certified therapy dog, Gwen, in 2015 and has maintained weekly visits since then (via Zoom through the pandemic!).

Susan is passionate about connecting our island seniors with both animals and children. She has worked to develop a children’s playgroup to meet regularly at OIH and has facilitated regular animal therapy visits with the residents as well.

Susan currently works with children and families at the Nantucket Community School and is on staff as the  Humane Education Coordinator at NiSHA.  She has also volunteered at The Atheneum since 2013 as an ESL English teacher.  She is delighted to be a member of the Friends of Our Island Home Board with people who share her passion for community service and helping support the senior members of our island community.