Susan Epstein & Associates offers AI advisory and strategic management consulting services for foundations, businesses, and organizations
Susan Epstein‘s consulting practice focuses on four areas, each grounded in her experience at the intersection of law, technology, and mission-driven leadership. Engagements are customized. She does not offer off-the-shelf programs.
Services offered by Susan Epstein & Associates
- AI Governance Advisory
- Board and Audit Committee Readiness on AI
- Responsible AI for Education & Foundations
- Executive Leadership
AI Governance & Civil Rights Advisory
Most AI governance frameworks address regulatory compliance and reputational risk. Fewer address what happens to people, particularly people who have historically been harmed by institutional systems, when algorithms make decisions about them.
Susan helps organizations build governance frameworks that take civil rights seriously as a substantive matter, not just a legal checklist. This includes:
· Assessing existing AI systems for civil rights and equity risk
· Developing policies, review processes, and accountability structures
· Preparing organizations for evolving federal, state, and international AI regulation
· Advising legal and compliance teams on AI-related civil rights exposure
· Building internal capacity to sustain responsible AI practices over time
This work is informed by her experience at Meta, where she advised on civil rights risk in AI products during a period of intense public, regulatory, and Congressional scrutiny.
Board Advisory / Audit Committee Readiness on AI
Boards and audit committees are increasingly expected to govern AI, often without the frameworks, vocabulary, or expertise to do so effectively. The gap between what boards are expected to know and what they actually understand about AI risk is one of the most significant governance failures of this moment.
Susan helps boards close that gap. She works with directors and governance teams to:
· Develop AI oversight frameworks appropriate to the organization’s risk profile
· Prepare audit committees to ask the right questions of management
· Assess whether existing governance structures are adequate for AI-related risks
· Build board literacy on AI civil rights, bias, and regulatory exposure
· Evaluate the adequacy of management’s AI risk disclosures
She also serves as an independent board director for organizations seeking a director with specific expertise in AI governance and civil rights risk.
Responsible AI for Education & Foundations
Educational institutions and foundations serve populations (students, grantees, communities) who are among the most vulnerable to AI-related harm, and among those with the least power to push back when things go wrong.
At the same time, AI offers genuine potential to expand access, personalize learning, and support educators in ways that could reduce inequity — if deployed thoughtfully and governed well.
Susan brings to this work both her legal and governance expertise and four terms of direct experience in public school governance. She helps educational institutions and foundations:
· Develop responsible AI policies and procurement frameworks
· Assess AI vendor products for civil rights and equity risk
· Advise on student data privacy and algorithmic accountability
· Support boards and leadership teams in governing AI responsibly
· Think through the equity implications of AI adoption decisions
Executive Leadership
Susan has spent more than a decade supporting executive directors, CEOs, and senior leaders, particularly in mission-driven organizations, through periods of significant change, complexity, and growth.
She works with a small number of senior leaders at a time, and engagements are built around the specific challenges, goals, and organizational context of each person she works with.
Working with Susan
Susan takes on a limited number of engagements at a time in order to give each client genuine attention. She works with organizations that are serious about governance, not those looking for a credential or a compliance checkbox.
