Susan Foster is FriendshipWorks’ Board President. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for social causes to her role. A skilled interviewer, researcher, and strategic planner, she draws on her background in public health and social work to help make the Board as successful as possible. Living in Lexington with her husband, Susan runs a public health consulting practice, working primarily with foundations that seek assistance with program evaluations of complex community initiatives or strategic learning processes.
Susan learned about FriendshipWorks through a consulting engagement with Goddard House, an assisted living community in Brookline. Goddard had just sold a nursing home and sought a meaningful way to contribute the windfall to the community of older Bostonians. They ultimately contributed funding to FriendshipWorks to create the MusicWorks program.
Susan says, “I am moved by the stories of intergenerational and cross-cultural friendship and by the way music awakens people and brings them together. I know that our work has helped innumerable people feel more engaged, more purposeful, and more joyful because of this organization.”
Susan joined the FriendshipWorks Board not long after her first meeting with founder and former Executive Director Janet Seckel-Cerrotti. Susan later became Board Secretary, and currently Board President.
Susan’s work with the Board has contributed to its growth. She helped complete the strategic planning process and approved the hiring of a strong development staff. She is proud to lead the board of an organization that has stayed true to its mission. As she looks to the future, she hopes FriendshipWorks focuses on its community partnerships: “This may take the form of engaging with BIPOC-led organizations to extend its reach to more communities of color. It may also take the form of re-engaging with vibrant faith communities to co-create responses to loneliness and isolation.”
A life-long learner, Susan is committed to social, racial, and environmental justice. Her volunteer work focuses on addressing climate change and actively supporting local and statewide candidates that support this effort. Susan also loves hiking, tennis, travel, and creating dinner tables that bring people together.
