Sue was born in Richmond, VA and grew up in Maryland. After earning her bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and doctoral degree in English from Cornell University, she worked in the University of Alabama Birmingham's Department of English for eight years. She moved to Lowell in 2011 to work at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she is now Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, & Social Science; Co Director of the Center for Asian American Studies (www.uml.edu/research/caas); and Professor of English. She is also the project director for the Southeast Asian Digital Archive (www.uml.edu/seada), which seeks to collect, preserve, and share historical materials related to Southeast Asians in the Greater Lowell area. 

She has served on the Association for Asian American Studies Board of Directors, the Executive Committee of the International Society for the Study of Narrative, and the Board of Directors for Lowell TeleMedia Center.