Susanne Bell

About Susanne Bell

I’m a community builder and change-maker. With a diverse background in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, I\'ve cultivated my skills in entrepreneurial leadership, strategy development and implementation, reflective listening, and relationship building. I take calculated risks and challenge the status quo to create value and drive growth. I\'m also skilled at managing resources, building partnerships, and developing strategies to achieve our shared goals.

Experience

1. Program Director & Senior Program Officer, Education and Workforce

   Danville Regional Foundation

   Mar 2020 — Present · Danville, VA, US

   Cultivated and directed a $10 million grant portfolio, including monitoring and evaluation. Analyzed grant requests; make recommendations to CEO and present requests to the Board.• Established the Caswell County Education Collaborative, a multi-sector coalition comprised of community leaders at all levels, from students to elected officials, with a mission to increase educational attainment via academic readiness, socio-emotional skills, out-of-school time and technology strategies through a racial equity lens. • Developed and led the Pittsylvania County Education Collaborative by engaging critical leaders, initiating consultative conversations and planning collaborative problem-solving processes. • Designed and managed the education collaboratives budget, which grew from to over three years.• Created the Out-of-School Time Learning Lab, a multi-month practitioner learning opportunity, to teach impactful strategies for creating and strengthening quality afterschool and summer leadership and programming. • Led informal learning leaders from libraries and museums to plan a 2024 regional learning event.

Education

• University of Virginia Darden School of Business

  Master of Business Administration - MBA

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Basic Economic Development Course, Government

• Carson-Newman University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Political Science and Government

• University of Virginia Darden School of Business

  Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning Business Management Certificate

• The Johns Hopkins University

  MPP, Public Policy, Public Health

Skills

• Nonprofit Organizations
• International Development
• Public Policy
• Qualitative Research
• Program Development
• Grant Writing
• Policy Analysis
• Policy
• Nonprofits
• Grants
• Analysis
• Program Management
• Report Writing
• Program Evaluation
• Blogging
• Research
• Community Outreach
• Community Development