Susie Gorden joined the firm as Associate Vice President. Susie will work primarily with the firm’s Philanthropy Practice, helping develop and implement strategies for individual foundations to talk about what they do, and the positive impact they make in communities, large and small, all across the country.
“Susie’s experience in the public and private sector is exactly what we were looking for to help take our Philanthropy Practice to the next level,” said H. Stewart “Stu” Van Scoyoc, President & CEO of VSA. “She has spent years working directly with Members of Congress and their staffs, and is highly respected both on and off the Hill. Susie is a natural fit to help ensure Washington thought leaders and policy makers understand the incredible work foundations and philanthropists are doing in their states and districts – and we are thrilled she is joining our team.”
Prior to joining VSA, Susie served as a Vice President for the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for over seven years where she worked with House and Senate offices to train staff and deliver professional development services. Additionally, she helped more than double the size of CMF during her tenure.
Before CMF, Susie worked for Representative Diana DeGette (D, CO-1) covering labor, environmental, energy, and transportation policy. She was also the Policy Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America where she successfully secured increased funding to ensure more quality mentoring relationships for America's at-risk youth and developed a grassroots framework to coordinate the efforts of the organization's 300 agencies.
Jeff Hamond, VSA Vice President and Director of the firm’s Philanthropy Practice, said the following, ”I’m very excited that Susie has decided to help us grow and serve our varied client base. She brings a career of great experience, a strong network of contacts, and unrivaled good humor to the VSA team.”
As a graduate of the University of Colorado, receiving a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Journalism and Mass Communication (with Honors), Susie wrote for the Campus Press and interned at The Boulder Daily Camera. Through the years of her career, Susie has done research for Northwestern Memorial Hospital, held the position of Communications Director for the Center for Environmental Citizenship and participated in many workshops in her different fields. Susie was also a liaison to Congress for Capitol Advantage, where she interacted with dozens of congressional offices and advocacy groups to improve constituent communications and citizen engagement.
