Suzanne’s international experiences and her faith have shaped her strong commitment to conservation. As a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she served in Tokyo, where trees were few, and in Beijing, where school children thought the sky was gray because they had never seen it blue. As U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, she saw climate change causing dying reefs, coastal flooding and falling local food supplies.
Land conservancies like Conserving Carolina are important to Suzanne because she wants her grandchildren, and their grandchildren, to have the same opportunities to wander in the woods as a child that she had. As Chair of the Friends of the Ocklawaha Greenway, she developed a strong interest in Greenways. She sees them as a legacy that will connect people to nature and help keep them healthy for generations to come.
Suzanne was educated at Beloit College, Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, and International Christian University in Tokyo. She has enjoyed hiking and gardening in Western North Carolina since retiring in 2010.
Back to Board of Directors Back to Board of Directors