Hi. I’d like to share a little about me. Personal stuff. Things you wouldn’t necessarily glean from a traditional resume or LinkedIn profile.

I’m 3rd in a family of four kids. A doctor, a banker, a baker and me, the tech junkie. My awesome, adoptive parents were educators. Dad, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and author of several papers and writings, founded the world’s first Ph.D. program in Environmental Sciences. Mom has a Masters in Music and spent much of her life celebrating music with children. They encouraged us to explore the world and follow our passions. They believed in me. They taught me I can be anything if I just put my mind to it.

I grew up in the midwest (Dayton, OH) and have lived on both coasts and the south (if you consider a 1 yr stint in Houston as the South). I’ve traveled to every U.S. state except Alaska. I just haven’t made it up there yet.

I’ve traveled to 16 countries and will visit many more. I moved to London, England for a couple years for my first job. I fell in love at 46 and got married in San Francisco to my partner Jenn. No kids. A very cool cat.

I love outdoor adventures. I’m a certified open water diver. I’m a traveler with many stories. Remind me to tell you the one from when I shared a bilo of Yaqona (Kava) with a King in the Yasawa Islands of Fiji.

I’ve managed a band, wrote a book, jumped out of a plane and raised $35k to help out after 9/11 because it was the right thing to do. My bucket list includes staying at an ice hotel and getting into a shark cage to experience the big guys up close.

Random share: I’m a champion tuber and hold the record for the highest launch while successfully landing back on the tube at 26mph. Others might attempt to discredit me, but I’m pretty sure I had the highest bounce.

I was a brand ambassador from an early age. I have healthy affinities for marketing, strategy, leadership and execution.

My Myers-Briggs Personality Type is ENFP (Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, Perception). “ENFPs are outgoing, creative, with the key skill of perceiving complicated patterns and information and assimilating it quickly. They are flexible, highly adaptable workers. They are driven by a keen devotion to their ideals and a strong drive to help others. Less developed are their patience for routine tasks, and projection of a serious, committed image.” Thanks to Carl Jung and Wikipedia.

What matters to me is meeting and working with people that are authentic, care and believe we can make our lives and the lives of others… better. And, to not stop until we succeed.

On a professional level, I’ve been on the founding teams of 9 startups, six with successful exits and am currently working in the diversity and inclusion space.

Every startup required a broad set of skills and competencies. And, while I often stepped into a Marketing leadership role, my contributions included product or market strategy, product/program design, fundraising, team coaching, building partnerships and figuring out how to grow this thing we just launched. I’m not a fan of the term ‘growth hacking’ but that’s what I do.

I love early stage ideas and developing new frameworks. Typically ones that are disruptive, introduce new paradigms or use technology to solve real problems. I want to get more involved with projects around social good and inclusion and feel the philanthropic industry is due for a major overhaul. I built and launched a social enterprise called Givelocity – a community for shared giving. Together, we’ve donated over $50k and continue to explore new models around micro-finance and collective giving.

I’ve worked with some really smart people at nascent stages of truly disruptive endeavors – LinkExchange (Tony Hsieh), PayPal (Peter Thiel). I’m an active startup coach and advisor.

My work history is a list of exciting ventures, some as short as 3 months to acquisition to four years and fully vested. Some with great exits and some still in play. True to my ENFP profile I seek out people that are doing things differently. I believe in the vision and make it my mission.

Random share: I co-own a baked goods company that produces a line of healthy granola and muesli.

I’m focused on finding the right space to share my experience; a place to apply my skills and passion for growing things. A space where technology and social impact meet.

If you’ve stayed with me this far, let’s set up a time to chat. Contact me below. I’d love to hear from you.

Susan