Susie Gorden oversees the daily interactions with the 170 plus partners in the Community Foundation Awareness Initiative. She is regularly on the Hill with community foundations, helping to build robust relationships with their congressional delegations and staff members. In addition, she is the lead on the veterans’ portfolio for a private foundation. She has positioned the foundation’s grantees as go-to experts with the relevant committees, and they have testified in multiple congressional hearings.
Prior to joining VSA, Susie served as a Vice President for the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for seven years, training over 1500 House and Senate staffers and delivering professional development services. During that time, she also trained as a facilitator and led strategic planning sessions for Members of Congress. In addition, she translated the Hill environment for groups as diverse as Feeding America and the National Association of REALTORS to help them better advocate for their members. Prior to her time at CMF, Susie was the Policy Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where she represented the interests of the national organizations 100+ agencies and secured millions in federal funding to support mentoring programs. She started her Capitol Hill career working for Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), covering most of her Energy and Commerce committee work.
