Susan Rabon was born in Onslow County, North Carolina, and grew up in Danville, Virginia, where she graduated from George Washington High School.  In 1982, she graduated from North Carolina State University with a B. A., summa cum laude, in Political Science.  She received her J.D from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986. 
           
Upon graduation from law school and having been admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in the summer of 1986, she clerked for The Honorable Jack L. Cozort, North Carolina Court of Appeals.  She entered private practice in 1987 with the firm, Carr, Swails, Huffine & Crouch of Wilmington, NC.  In 1993, she joined the staff of the Attorney General’s Office in Raleigh as Special Counsel and in 1994 became Deputy Attorney General for Administration.  There she oversaw the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice as Chief of Staff.

In 2001, she moved to the Governor’s Office with incoming Governor Michael F. Easley.  As Senior Assistant for Administration she served as one of the Governor’s top three advisors and oversaw the day-to-day administrative operations of the Governor’s Office.  She provided the Governor with advice in many areas of state government but particularly in the areas of budget, personnel and technology. 

Commissioner Rabon was appointed by Governor Mike Easley and assumed the Commissionership on January 7, 2009.  Her term as Commissioner ends on  June 30, 2015.  She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and is a North Carolina Certified Mediator.  She is an active volunteer in the schools and in other community affairs.  She and her husband Tom have one son.