Go Big Ed is a public service by Susan Darst Williams, an Omaha writer and fifth-generation Nebraskan with a passion for improving education. 

  

She is contributing editor of RFD-TV The Magazine (www.rfdtv.com), and formerly a reporter and correspondent for The Omaha World-Herald and the Midlands Business Journal. 

  

Susan attended the Westside Community Schools in Omaha and was graduated with honors from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She also has taught newswriting and reporting at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and has been a longtime free-lance writer and community volunteer in the Omaha area. 

  

With a particular interest in improving education for disadvantaged youth, she was named the Board Member of the Year by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Omaha for her efforts on the board and as a writing mentor and newsletter editor. Other past volunteer service has been for the Junior League of Omaha, the Omaha Children's Museum, the Child Saving Institute and the Neale Woods Nature Center. 

  

Susan and her husband Dave, president of Drake-Williams Steel, Inc., have four daughters. The oldest, Jordan, was graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Neely, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, also was Phi Beta Kappa. Eden is a student at UNL, and "Whoopsie Daisy" Williams - Maddy -- is majoring in freckles at an area grade school. 

  

Among Susan's service to schools over the years: 

  

n       Founding president of a middle-school parents' organization in the local public district. 

  

n       Coach of a creativity team of sixth-graders that came in third in the world at an Odyssey of the Mind competition in Knoxville, Tenn. 

  

n       Chaired an alumni telethon that raised $10,000 for her alma mater public district. 

  

n       Desktop-published school directories that raised $5,000 a year for three years. 

  

n       Developed and maintained a grade-school learning garden. 

  

n       Served on district-level committees on English standards and strategic planning. 

  

Susan also is author of the book, "Show 'n' Tell on Schools" (www.amazon.com), has posted a collection of free enrichment activities on www.AfterSchoolTreats.com, and a series of free educational advice columns, www.ShowandTellforParents.com  

  

She has formed a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation, After School Treats, Inc., to seek charitable donations to fund complementary learning activities for disadvantaged children outside school hours. See the "Mini-Grants" sections of www.AfterSchoolTreats.com and www.ShowandTellforParents.com  

  

Susan also operates a feature website, www.RadiantBeams.org