About
Hi, I’m Susan.
Professionally, I am a strategic advisor, a technologist, a practitioner of human-centred design, and a student of organizational behaviour.
In the past, I have been a Rhodes Scholar, a strategy consultant, a CEO, and a licensed propane dispenser. (Only one of those involved an objective assessment of my skills.) I love to solve specific, pragmatic problems by drawing on knowledge from a variety of disciplines and traditions. I have degrees in English literature, software design, philosophy, politics, and economics, and computer science. At various points in my career, I devoted myself to:
- Applying machine learning techniques to natural language problems.
- Communicating complex medical concepts to patients.
- Architecting the data, software, technology, and governance of large enterprises.
- Embedding human-centred design capabilities in large organizations in service of customer-centricity.
My current endeavour is the future of work. I want to help build organizations that are wonderful places to work, because of what they contribute to the world and how their people flourish. I am an acolyte of David Allen, Brené Brown, and Michael J. Sandel, which is to say I value productivity, vulnerability, and justice, in workplaces and in life.
Outside of work, I am trying to raise two kind, fair-minded boys who are able to chart their own path to happiness and pick up their @%&*!# socks. In this undertaking, my husband Sam is my hope and stay. With whatever spare hours remain, I enjoy dedicating time to deliberate practice of arcane pursuits (curling, tennis, choral singing, duplicate bridge), even if my efforts generally produce minimal results due to lack of discernable talent. I like to bake things that are indulgent and delicious, and decorate them with intricate depictions in buttercream. I read voraciously, with a penchant for mystery novels, The Globe and Mail on dead trees, and non-fiction that gives me new ways to think about the world.
I feel socially inept at cocktail parties, but love to get to know someone over a meal or a drink. I relish grand adventures to new places, as long as they are interspersed with quiet time at home. I have lived in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, England, Alberta, and now downtown Toronto. I love busy cities, big prairie skies, and dreaming spires, but it is the ocean that brings me peace.
Whatever my foibles and failings, when all is said and done, I hope it can be truly said that I was generous and kind.