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Suzanne Pease, Jill-Of-All-Trades
07/01/2007 - By By Tobi Tesoriero
A chance meeting 20 years ago with an advertising agent suggesting she might turn her artistic talents into a business has since branched out to numerous other avenues. Suzanne took the ball and ran with it.
Serendipity [def.]: 1. a happy accident; 2. how Suzanne Pease got her start.
A chance meeting 20 years ago with an advertising agent suggesting she might turn her artistic talents into a business has since branched out to numerous other avenues. Suzanne took the ball and ran with it. The results? The 2007 NAWBO-CJ Member of the Year (Central Jersey Chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners), 1992 Business Woman of the Year [New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners]; 1995 Athena Award and 1998 Circle of Excellence for Small Business and 2007 Chamber Volunteer of the Year [Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce]; 1996 SBA New Jersey Women in Business Advocate of the Year; 1st Place Corporate Identity Package [NJ Communication, Advertising, & Marketing Association]; NJ Elected Delegate and Region 2 Procurement Chair for the 1996 White House Conference on Small Business; 2003-04 President of the National Association of Women Business Owners… and the list goes on!
Perseverance, dedication, a belief in oneself, and, in her own words, “a great support group” (including her husband of 39 years, a computer scientist, and their son, 36) have helped make Suzanne the outstanding businesswoman she is today. With a B.S. degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and a Masters’ degree from Washington State University, she owns and operates Ampersand Graphics in Morganville [www.ampersandgraphics.com], a graphic design firm.
But individual success in the business world was not the only interest Suzanne had; she became an increasingly active, vocal, and dynamic advocate for the small business person, especially for women. In 2003 she was elected president of NAWBO [The National Association of Women Business Owners], and in that capacity also served on the OPEN-American Express Small Business Advisory Board, the AOL Small Business Advisory Council, the Wells Fargo Women’s Business Advisory Board, the Wyndham Women on their Way Advisory Board, and the Center for Women’s Business Research Board of Directors. A past Foundation Board Member of Brookdale Community College, she is an active member of the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, where she serves as Marketing/Program Chair. Her seemingly inexhaustible list of credits is “rounded out” by being a representative in the JSPRAA [Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association], NJ CAMA [Communications, Advertising and Marketing Association], and Monmouth Heritage Rail Trails. And oh, yes – her work is featured in The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook.
“Volunteer positions have developed my leadership abilities, rounded out my skill set, kept me busy, and introduced me to thousands of dynamic, inspirational people,” she modestly says, thankful of the experiences and de-emphasizing her many contributions and the multitudinous ways in which she has given to the community. She expresses that, in particular, her leadership in the NAWBO “was extremely rewarding. I really do believe that economic empowerment for women can solve many of the world’s problems.”
Bearing in mind the sobering statistics that 50% of all businesses fail within the first 5 years, she is currently preparing to chair the S.E.E.D. [Supporting Emerging Entrepreneurs’ Development] Competition and Conference on October 23rd, which will include workshops, a tradeshow, and seminars, and feature a Business Plan competition; aspiring women entrepreneurs and business owners whose businesses are less than 2 years old are invited to submit business plans, and the top 10 will be judged by an audience of entrepreneurs. As though she’s not busy enough, she has recently embarked on a brand new creative venture – designing jewelry – which this past month was worn by the entire Pacific Opera Company during a performance at Carnegie Hall!
Suzanne and her husband have lived in Marlboro for 30 years and love it, particularly for its “diversity of people, cultural venues, and thoughts.” When asked what she found most rewarding in her starred career, she said it was being part of the beginning stages of so many businesses; she visited 28 different chapters all over the country during the year of her presidential tenure, and helped leaders become better leaders by networking people and ideas, sharing best practices, and helping make them create their own success stories. Her advice? Always be ready. “Whether you’re planning or already in business, be ready for ‘happy accidents’; even if you don’t feel you’re ready, if you have a passion, take the leap and learn from the experience.” She certainly has. –by Rich Fireman
Are you or someone you know in Marlboro a “Person on the Move”? If you’ve got a story to tell this could be you! E-mail a brief description to us at info@livinginmedia.com and let us know who you are.
Boxes (side notes):
STATS
Favorite restaurants: Jose Tejas in Woodbridge
Favorite musician: Randi Travis
Favorite movie: I read more books, but loved Lord of the Rings
Pet peeve: people who don’t follow through after taking a responsibility
Three people you would like to have dinner with: Madeline Albright, George Mitchell, and Eleanor Roosevelt – all caring, creative problem solvers who must have some great thoughts about world peace and prosperity
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