Suzanne Marie Kelley[4] was born and raised in Canton, Ohio, as one of eight children.[5] Her father, Warren Kelley, was a Korean War veteran and structural engineer, while her mother, Joan Kelley, was a homemaker.[5] At the age of eight, she had her first job delivering newspapers for The Canton Repository.[5]
Lee attended McKinley High School in Canton, where she was on the swim team.[5] She graduated from high school in 1985 and went to college at Carnegie Mellon University.[5] There she earned both her bachelor of arts degree in policy management and a master of science degree in public management,[3] receiving her master's degree in 1990.[4] During this time, she had different part-time jobs, including working as a cafeteria worker, caregiver, and aerobics instructor.[3]
Early career
After moving to Las Vegas in 1993, Lee became the founding director of the Inner-City Games, now known as the After-School All-Stars, which conducts after-school programs for children.[3] Beginning in 2010, Lee served as the president of Communities In Schools of Nevada, a dropout prevention organization.[6]
Lee has served on the Superintendent's Educational Opportunities Advisory Committee, Prime 6 Advisory Committee, Clark County School District English Language Learners Program Task Force, State Accountability Advisory Committee, UNLV's Lincy Institute Education Committee Advisory Board, and Guinn Center Board of Directors.[7]
Lee ran for reelection to a second term.[13] She won the three-way primary election with 82.8% of the vote.[14] She defeated Republican nominee Dan Rodimer in the general election with 48.8% of the vote.[15]
On December 18, 2019, Lee voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.[18]
In 2020, Lee lobbied the federal government to provide aid to Nevada's gaming industry. Federal agencies implemented the regulatory change she was seeking, which allowed businesses with fewer than 500 employees that derive more than half of their income from gaming to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans. Two weeks after the change went into effect, Full House, a gambling company led by Lee's husband, secured two loans totaling $5.6 million. Lee said she became aware of the company's plan to apply for PPP loans several days before its loan application was submitted but had no role in its decision to apply. Lee and her husband own several millions of dollars in Full House stock and stock options.[19][20][21]
In September 2021, it was reported that Lee had failed to properly disclose over 200 personal stock trades. The trades were estimated to be worth as much as $3.3 million.[22]
Lee lives in Las Vegas with her two children. She and Dan Lee, a casino company CEO, announced their divorce in May 2021.[34] She is Roman Catholic.[35]
Lee and her former husband owned 17 homes across the United States as well as a private airplane.[36]
.jpg)
