Susan Burgess

Susan Burgess has 27 years experience in consulting, training, curriculum development, business development, coaching, and teaching.  She began her career as an educator and curriculum developer teaching and managing specialized learning centers in Southern California. She holds a masters degree in education.She later went on to work for ten years in marketing and advertising in the Pacific Northwest. She was on the executive team of several advertising agencies and was Vice President of Account Services for Evans Communications. She managed the teams responsible for accounts such as Eddie Bauer and the Sheraton Hotels Pacific Northwest Region.

Susan returned to graduate school for a master’s degree in psychology specializing in clinical psychology and organizational behavior. She had a private therapy practice and is a licensed psychotherapist. Her practice in organizational development consulting includes working with organizations to improve cross-functional collaboration and team dynamics.

She works with executive teams to better communicate and implement strategy. She has worked with clients such as Hewlett Packard, the Boeing Airplane Company, Capital One, Coca-Cola Company and Humana. In addition, a large part of her practice is focused on working with non-profit organizations partnering with them to build organizational capacity and sustainability to increase their ability to provide much needed services in their communities.

She is currently a partner and senior consultant with The Leading Element in Syracuse, New York. The Leading Element is dedicated to assisting clients in all aspects of organizational development; enhancing individual performance, increasing leadership capacity, fostering collaboration and innovation, and building organizational structures and practices in the service of optimizing results and achieving success in today’s challenging and dynamic environments.

Susan volunteers her time working with several non-profit organizations and enjoys biking, skiing, and writing. She also makes a mean blueberry pie.