She obtained her Law degree as well as a specialization in Finance Law from Universidad del Rosario, Bogota. Additionally, pursued an LL.M. in Business and Bankruptcy Law at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and is admitted to practice law in Colombia and the State of New York. She is an Insol Fellow.
Until December 2021, she was the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Proceedings in Colombia (Chief Justice of Bankruptcy of Colombia), and currently works as advisor in business insolvency, complex litigation, and arbitration.

Between 2019 and 2021, she represented the Republic of Colombia at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group V (Insolvency Law). During her participation, some relevant documents were approved: UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency with Guide to Enactment (2019) and the Legislative Recommendations on Insolvency of Micro and Small Enterprises (2021).

Before taking office as Chief Justice of Bankruptcy of Colombia, she was the head of the Insolvency practice at Brigard Urrutia Abogados in Colombia, worked as international associate at Dechert LLP in New York City, and clerked for the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

She led the reforms to the bankruptcy regime to address the effects of the Covid-19 crisis and, as a result, the Government of Colombia issued Legislative Decrees 560 and 772 in April and June 2020 and the subsequent regulations. These rules provided for the creation of extra-judicial bankruptcy proceedings, the incorporation of artificial intelligence tools to the administration of bankruptcy cases by the court, and the creation of a simplified insolvency regime for small enterprises.

Susana is a lecturer of bankruptcy law at several universities, including Universidad del Rosario, Universidad Javeriana and Universidad de Los Andes, and has participated in multiple projects with organizations such as the World Bank and Insol.

She has also participated in numerous national and international conferences as lecturer and panelist on insolvency and has published several papers and articles on bankruptcy law.
She is a member of prestigious associations, including the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), where she is co-chair for Latin America; The International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL) where she is a member of the Legislative and Regulatory Group, the Technical Research Committee and the Latin America Committee; the International Insolvency Institute (III) where she es a member of the Board of the III Committee Model Laws@Work; Colegio de Abogados Rosaristas, were she is a member of the directive board.

She has received important awards and recognitions including the American Bankruptcy Institute’s “40 under 40” 2020 Class and the Global Restructuring Review “40 under 40” 2022 Class. Susana was named Woman of the Year in Restructuring 2022 by IWIRC. Also, in 2022, she was selected as part of INSOL’s Future Forty, a celebration of the rising stars of the insolvency industry in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the organization.