Biography!
Susan Benschop Wefald grew up in Royal Oak, Michigan. Her parents were John and Irma Benschop. Wefald received her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Dakota. She has resided in Bismarck, North Dakota since 1970. She is a former licensed social worker, and a former credit counselor. She was a member of the Bismarck Public Schools board from 1989 to 1993, and she served on the Veterans Memorial Library Board of Trustees 2001-2006. She was appointed to the Public Service Commission in 1993 by Governor Ed Schafer to complete the term of Dale V. Sandstrom, who resigned. She is the first woman to serve on the state's Public Service Commission. In 1996 and 2002, Wefald was re-elected to serve six-year terms with the Commission. Wefald did not seek re-election in 2008. At the time of her retirement, she was serving as the President of the Commission.
Susan has played the violin since she was 9 years old. A charter member of the Bismarck Mandan Symphony, she has played her violin with the symphony for 50 years. Susan also is a lifetime Girl Scout who has served as President of Sakakawea Girl Scout Council and also President of Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons. She is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck where she teaches Sunday School.
She is the wife of Robert O. Wefald, and they have three grown children; Sarah, Kathryn and Tom (1997-2013). She has two grandchildren named Andrew and Grace.
During her retirement, Wefald has written three books. She is the author of Spectacular North Dakota Hikes - Bring the Dog (2011), and Important Voices - North Dakota's Women Elected State Officials Share their Stories 1893-2013 (2014), both published by the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies (now NDSU Press). Drought, Dust and Creativity - North Dakota's Art Scene during the Great Depression (2026) was published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press. North Dakota History - The Journal of the Northern Plains has also published four articles by Wefald: Breaking an 1889 Glass Ceiling - Laura J. Eisenhuth, first woman elected to statewide office in the United States (Vol. 79,1, December 2014); On With the Show! - WPA Repertory Theater in 1930's North Dakota (Vol. 81.4, Winter 2016); Convincing the Men - North Dakota's Woman Suffrage Campaign 1912-20 (Vol. 84.2, Winter 2019); and Remembering "Our Boys" - North Dakota's World War I Monuments and Memorials 1918-1941 (Vol. 83.1, Summer 2018).
