Susan Dawson (Essential 13 – 1992) is a force to be reckoned with (or not reckoned with, if you are faint of heart). She has been honored with too many awards to list (but you can see them here). She spent her career working in tech, then in entrepreneurial tech startups. When it was time to transition away from one of those successful startups, she wasn’t sure what she would do next.
“I talked about having a midlife crisis and buying a Maserati, but my husband wasn’t into that,” she says.
Instead, she began working on a pioneering approach to achieving systems-level change for education – you know, the obvious alternative to buying a sports car. The result was the E3 Alliance, the groundbreaking organization that she founded in 2006 and for which she continues to serve as President and Executive Director. Susan cites lessons learned during her year in the Leadership Austin Essential program as integral to the process of developing her ideas for E3.
“I was a civil engineer by training,” she says, “so what I learned in Leadership Austin was not something I would otherwise have reached out for. Leadership Austin gave me the opportunity to be exposed to experiences that were relevant, informational, growing, useful and unique. I – and probably 98 percent of the other people in my class – would not have thought about those things.”
Susan’s advice for current and future cohorts? “I know it sounds trite to say, but what you put in is what you get out. That is more true of Leadership Austin than any experience I’ve had. The intent of Leadership Austin is to expose you to a variety of people and networks and skills and experiences in your community that you’re only going to have a tenth of coming in, because it doesn’t matter who you are – an environment person or a civics person or a whatever you are – you’re not going to have that range. I think every alum would say that the amount of time and effort that they put in was more than multiplied by what they got out of it.”
Susan at the recent Leadership Austin Alumni Holiday Party
Susan was chair of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce (now the Austin Chamber) board of directors in 2001 when Leadership Austin became an independent nonprofit. “The transition was challenging,” she says, “but also exciting. It was like, ‘What are we going to do?’ but also, ‘Look at everything we could do!’” When asked if the Leadership Austin of today is what she thought it would become, she says it’s even more than she ever thought it would be. “New class members get a broader experience, and the range of programming – especially the new Emerge program – is impressive and innovative.”
When pressed, Susan says the one thing she would improve about Leadership Austin is to make it more proactive in connecting alumni to leadership opportunities in the region. “The body of work of Leadership Austin is strong and engaging and important to the community. Leadership Austin not only provides an opportunity for individuals to drastically enhance their capability and their exposure in a short period of time, but it also provides a pipeline of leaders for our community.”
We hear you, Susan! Alumni – make sure you are utilizing the Job Board, Community Calendar and On the Move sections in the alumni newsletter! If you aren’t receiving these emails every Monday, email Erin Osenbaugh, Donor Relations Manager, at eosenbaugh@leadershipaustin.org to get on the list!
Thanks to Susan for making the time to share her Leadership Austin story with us. If you have a story you’d like to share, or know someone who has a great story to tell, please share it with us!
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