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Based in Miami, Suzanna comes to SHPE most recently as a founding member of Partners For NonProfits, a consulting firm dedicated to advancing the mission of nonprofit organizations. Her resume includes over 30 years of experience in the public, non-profit and private sectors, including time in the White House during the Clinton-Gore administration—and having been appointed as an advisor on more than a dozen NGO boards—she is an expert in leadership and team development, strategic planning, fundraising and philanthropy, coalition building, and process integration.
The vetting process took roughly a year, and to guide this important decision, SHPE’s Board of Directors brought in Wipfli, a top-tier consulting firm, to develop, implement, and manage the CEO selection process from start to finish. The wrap-around approach resulted in a refreshed understanding of the type of individual needed for the position, the attraction of a large pool of capable individuals from across the country, and use of a multi-round interview process to surface the most competitive of applicants. Along every step of the way, bias interruption techniques such as just-in-time training, position-aligned assessment, resumé blinding, and tiered selection panels were used to ensure the process met the highest standards of integrity and resulted in a superior decision.
During the final interview round it became clear Suzanna was the right person for SHPE. She understood our mission, our legacy, and the direction SHPE is moving in. And she demonstrated her innate ability to bring people together while fostering a commitment to a common goal. She is exceedingly humble even though she has many noteworthy accomplishments she could tout. And she is, at the end of the day, a strategic thinker and a collaborative problem solver driven by data - traits any engineer or scientist can respect!
Suzanna succeeds Lifetime member and former Board Chair, Miguel Alemañy, who stepped up as SHPE’s Interim CEO in March 2023. “It has been a privilege to serve at the helm of SHPE this past year,” Miguel reflects. “And I couldn’t be more excited for Suzanna to take the reins. She is a nationally respected community-builder who truly values the members and stakeholders that make SHPE’s Familia the envy of organizations everywhere. She brings a wealth of sector knowledge and her vision aligns perfectly with where we want to go.”
Miguel has been an integral part of our Familia’s recent exponential growth financially, programmatically, and membership-wise. While Miguel will be stepping away from the role of CEO, he’ll continue to serve on a special sub-committee for the Board, helping set the structure that will propel SHPE for the next 50 years. On behalf of the entire SHPE Familia, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to Miguel for this long and distinguished commitment to our mission.
I also want to offer my gratitude to Diana Gomez, Melanie Weber, and Karen Santos from the Board of Directors who stepped up for the CEO selection process and worked alongside Wipfli to conduct interviews during the second and third rounds before the fourth and final interview with the entire Board. These three SHPEtinas are incredible servant leaders, representing the best this organization has to offer - thank you!
Prior to her role at Partners for Nonprofits, Suzanna served as the first-ever Chief Impact Officer at Taproot Foundation. Before that, she spent nearly 12 years at the Adrienne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts raising over $40 million during her tenure. She was Chief of Staff to Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and served as Miami Program Director for the Community Partnerships Program at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. She has held staffer positions in the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate, served as Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison, and was appointed to the role of Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor. Suzanna has held leadership positions with private companies including Nielsen Media Research and currently serves on the board of First Focus, a national children’s advocacy organization. She holds an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas-Pan American, now known as UT Rio Grande Valley.
Currently, Suzanna is a loyal Dallas Cowboys fan residing in Miami with her husband Chris and 13-year old son, Rocco. She thinks dogs are family, and describes cooking as her “love language.” Give her a grill, and she couldn’t be happier! She even barbecues breakfast on weekend mornings. She is passionate about her faith, and in a virtual world, she still seeks in-person connections.
Ultimately, however, Suzanna is a leader who knows what it means to be a Hispanic woman in a world that may not always understand or appreciate what that represents. About her new role, she says “SHPE embodies so much of what Hispanics have to offer the world, and I can’t wait to continue to share our remarkable potential. It is a privilege to take on this role, and I recognize the trust you must have in me to usher SHPE into our next 50 years of success. I am deeply committed to our mission and look forward to closing the gap between Hispanics and STEM.”
Please join me in welcoming Suzanna to the SHPE Familia! She is eager to start and even more eager to get to know our membership. If you’d like to reach her directly with ideas, thoughts, or warm welcomes - please reach out to her at suzannavw@shpe.org.
Sincerely yours,
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