Suzanne works closely with your team to develop and implement actionable plans and strategies to advance your organization's goals. Her extensive experience and flexible style mean she can work with you to meet your needs.
Suzanne’s marketing and entrepreneurial roots go back to 1974 when she got started selling tissue-paper ghosts to neighbors in Berkeley, California. Suzanne realized that if the right person was pitching a product (a five-year-old girl) and the production costs low enough, (two Kleenexes and a piece of string) one could have a successful product. Unfortunately, her board of directors (Mom and Dad) decided that taking advantage of the neighbors was not a winning strategy and the fantasy of building a tissue-paper ghost empire was over.
Fortunately, the dream of being a marketer survived and today she is lucky enough to be a marketing and communications consultant working with non-profits, higher ed and small businesses.
Professional Experience
Suzanne’s professional background includes long-term experience “in-house” as the Marketing Director for the a School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences, and the the Center on Wisconsin Strategy both at the UW Madison. In addition, Suzanne was the marketing director for the Women’s Funding Alliance in Seattle, WA. In these roles Suzanne was responsible for developing and implementing diverse strategic marketing initiatives that helped her organizations meet their goals.
Suzanne began consulting when she realized that there were many small and mid-sized organizations desperately needing strategic support but unable to hire their own dedicated marketing staff person. Suzanne’s consulting clients have included Midwest Environmental Advocates, Porchlight, Forward Community Investments, Scholtz Non-Profit Law, Reframing Israel, Covenant Network, the Oakwood Foundation, the Open Notebook, the National Association of Social Workers, Jewish Family Service, the Evans School of Public Affairs, the Northwest Girls Coalition, the Childhood Obesity Project, and many others.
Non-Profit Committee and Board Work
In additional to Suzanne’s professional experience with non-profits, she has over twenty years of board, committee and volunteer experience with a wide range of organizations in the Madison and Seattle areas, including, The United Way of Dane County, The Madison Public Library Foundation, A Fund for Women, MUNCH Madison, Legal Voice, the American Cancer Society, New Morning Nursery School, the 45th Street Clinic, Washington Women for Choice, and the Center for Wooden Boats.
Corporate Experience
Before leaping to the non-profit world, Suzanne spent seven years in the high-tech industry. This tenure included five years at Microsoft where she managed a wide variety of projects in the human resources department, and a stint as a marketing manager at a Seattle software start-up.
Education and Awards
Suzanne holds a BA from U.C. Berkeley in Anthropology and an MBA from the University of Washington with a concentration in marketing and non-profit management. She is a member of the Leadership Tomorrow class of 2000 and the winner of the Women in Communications Promise of Excellence award.