Susie Paoletta - Secretary

Susie Paoletta relocated with her husband, Justin, from Orlando to Pittsburgh in late 2022. She has an AS in Occupational Therapy, and an AA in General Studies. She currently works in customer service leadership.

Her religious background is somewhat expansive. Her maternal grandmother was Catholic, and her maternal grandfather was Jewish. The Catholic church would only bless the marriage if the children were raised Catholic, so that’s exactly what they did. Later, both children would convert to the Baháʼí Faith. When Susie’s mother married her father, she became a Lutheran and this is how Susie and her sister were brought up, although as children, they still occasionally celebrated Hannukah and Passover with their Jewish relatives.

Susie started having questions or critical observations about her religion around middle school, but never paid them much mind because of the “facts” that God was real, and the bible was true, so any issues were likely due to her own lack of understanding. Over time, she began really digging into her own faith and started to realize that it may not have been teenage angst after all, and perhaps she should explore those ideas. As faith was replaced with facts, religion was replaced with reason. Susie now describes herself as an Agnostic Atheist and a Secular Humanist.

The harm that religion causes is something she cannot ignore, and for this reason she has become invested in activism. Soon after arriving in Pittsburgh and feeling overwhelmed with Christian Nationalism’s rising threat to society, she felt the need to do something. From there, Susie found the Pittsburgh Freethought Community through the magic of Google, and she and her husband were warmly welcomed from day one!  She has been on the Board since October 2024 and Secretary since January 2025. Susie is enthusiastically participating in and looking for ways to help build the community.