Susan M. Kester was born in Michigan and raised in Southwest Florida. Upon graduating high school, she began her business career as an administrative assistant for the local coroner. She brought her clerical abilities to several different attorney firms spanning more than 20 years.

Susan’s love for children led to her and her husband adopting three. Their first child adopted was diagnosed with ML 3. In as much as most physicians were unaware of the disorder, Susan spent countless hours researching and contacting other afflicted families, ultimately serving three years on the Board of Directors for The Society for Mannosidosis and Related Diseases (ISMRD).