Susan Maze-Rothstein’s childhood experiences of injustice led her to help create a more just world for her children and her students. Growing up Jewish and biracial in a white neighborhood, Maze-Rothstein was dismissed by her teachers but earned a place for herself at Cornell, where she became involved in student activism, which eventually led her to a law degree. She became an administrative law judge at the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents and senior faculty at Northeastern University School of Law, where she manages community social justice projects. Through these projects, students donate 15,000 hours of pro bono work per year to social justice causes. Her commitment to serving the community has a more personal side as well: Determined that her sons have a more positive school experience than her own, she developed the Diversity Committee at the Driscoll School, creating a more supportive, multicultural environment through changes to hiring, curriculum, and cross-cultural social events. Maze-Rothstein sees her multicultural background as an asset, enabling her to bridge cultures and worldviews and to help others cross barriers of difference.

Susan Maze-Rothstein was honored at the 2002 Women Who Dared event in Boston.