Independent historian Susan Deaver Olberding loves northern Arizona history. For over three decades, she has been telling the stories of the area while ensuring the preservation of buildings that illustrate and document a past that could easily be overlooked and destroyed. She continues to write, present, interpret and promote the regions' magnificent history. She merits recognition from the Sharlot Hall Award committee for her many contributions to Arizona history.

Susan traces her ancestry back to the American Revolution but she first came to Arizona as a teenager in the spring of 1966 when her father was transferred to California. The family's effort to relocate permanently to Prescott didn't work out, but the wonders of the state caused Susan to move to Flagstaff in 1985 with her young daughter and two horses. She achieved two of her goals when she earned her master's degree in History at Northern Arizona University (NAU), and secured employment at the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA). She settled in Fort Valley (a community near Flagstaff), and, most importantly, began to devote her boundless energy and time to various institutions and historic causes that needed the attention of a determined woman.

Susan credits Katharine Bartlett, the 1991 Sharlot Hall Award winner, with motivating her to document local history. Katharine was among the first people Susan met when she became an MNA employee. When she learned of Katharine's lengthy tenure at MNA, Susan met with her often to learn the marvelous history of MNA, of which Susan continues to explore and share as an MNA Research Associate.