Susan Herr

What will it take to make the well-being of LGBT elders one of the top concerns of LGBT people of all ages nationwide? And what will it take to enlist broad swaths of both the LGBT community and our allies in advancing this cause? These are questions that Susan, in this newly created role, is being empowered to explore. As Chief Engagement Officer, Susan oversees SAGE’s communications, development and public policy departments as well as SAGENet, a network of 27 affiliates in 20 states.

Over a 30-year career, Susan has pushed the envelope as an educator in inner-city school systems, executive director of youth-oriented community and political participation organizations and as an instructor of nonprofit management at DePaul University. As Director of the Children, Youth and Families Initiative at Chicago’s largest community foundation, Susan managed a ten-year, $30 million grantmaking initiative.

From 2007-2014, Susan parlayed her deep knowledge of social change and philanthropy to build a successful digital content firm serving foundations, nonprofits and government agencies that included Atlantic Philanthropies, Open Society Foundations, Communications Network, Foundation Center and Philanthropy New York. Her writing on the topic of philanthropic strategy for high net worth donors was syndicated to more than 70 community foundations through the now defunct PhilanthroMedia.org as well as outlets like Philanthropy News Digest.

In 2009, she founded dapperQ.com, a queer-positive website for those “transgressing men’s fashion.” For her work, she was named to GO Magazine’s 2010 Class of 100 Women We Love. She sold the site in 2015.

Susan holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an M.A. from De Paul University.