40 over 40: Meet Sue

Meet Sue. At 68, she embodies versatility, creativity, and humor. From working as a project manager in construction to serving as Executive Director of a nonprofit art center, Sue has lived many lives — all rooted in connection and service. A poet, musician, and lifelong lover of the arts, she believes laughter is essential to surviving life’s deepest emotions. More confident and grounded than ever, Sue is committed to being the calm, compassionate presence she wants to see in the world.

In Sue’s words…

“I’m an outside the box kind of person.  I never really knew what “the box” is.   Growing up with three brothers in the 1960s, I found I’d rather catch frogs or play army than play with dolls.   I never had a Barbie Doll.  My mom claimed I didn’t need to have what all the other little girls had.  Perhaps that is what taught me I didn’t need to DO what other girls do.   I did get married and have children, but I was the only one of my siblings that followed our father into the men’s world of construction. Hard bid and conceptual estimating plus construction project management are a few pieces of my experiences.

I had challenges as a woman working in a man’s world, but found that my girl brain saw work arounds that others did not.  What helped me was a passion for observing what other organizations did, understanding what made sense for what circumstance, and having the ability to adapt procedures across situations and industries.  My roles in professional organizations like the American Society of Professional Estimators, the U.S. Green Building Council, and acquiring my LEED accreditation in Building Design and Construction provided even more insights on how things get done outside the box.

That was my career.  My PASSION is The Arts. As a volunteer executive director of a non-profit arts organization, I witnessed a whole other side of life.  Right brain thinking vs left brain thinking and how thought processes from both can interact and enhance goals and outcomes.  Just as with the joy of witnessing a construction project from concept to completion, witnessing the evolution of an artist and arts organization through creative beginnings to success has made life worth living.  My life experiences have taught me to look at the world from the perspective of “what can go right”?”