Susan Hibbard

At BUILD I… 

am responsible for the organization’s healthy growth and development. I hold its historical memory and have a vision for its future, but I listen to and learn from and with the staff and the state early childhood leaders with whom we partner. I am involved in most projects, raise the funds, work closely with BUILD’s fiscal sponsor TSNE MissionWorks, manage the focus on maximizing federal initiatives, and try my best to facilitate cross-team learning.

I do this work because…

I am deeply committed to social, racial, and economic justice and I love working with passionate leaders.

I am most proud of…

BUILD’s reputation for collaboration, its can do attitude, its back-office nature (we aren’t out for fame), and our forever-learning ethos.

When the day is done…

I enjoy my family and friends, reading novels, lying in hammocks, floating on the lake, and not being on the telephone or Zoom.

Work History

• Selected as the BUILD Initiative’s third Executive Director in 2014
• Deputy Director, BUILD Initiative. 2010-2014
• Consultant, BUILD Initiative. 2002-2010
• Consultant for numerous social justice and change organizations including United Way Worldwide (2006-2011): consultant on Born Learning and other early learning projects; Families and Work Institute (2003-2006): Project Manager and technical assistance broker for a variety of early learning projects; Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (2001-2012): program development.
• Campaign Consultant. NYC-based campaign consulting firm that worked on candidate and ballot measure campaigns including fighting anti-gay initiatives, and running the successful campaign of the first openly gay assembly member to the NYS Assembly, and working on the campaign of the first African American mayor in NYC.

Education

• Undergraduate work in Sociology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and M.A. from the New School University in New York City in American Politics and Public Policy from the Political Science Department.