She is fabulous

Joining Susanne Crummey (Bottom row, third from left) is Susan Pinsky, Hillsides Board Member (left of Susanne)

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Susanne Crummey's office you feel like you have entered Santa’s workshop. In the corners of the office are stacks of toys and other kinds of prized treasures for children. I’ve always found it curious, but never felt the need to delve into why there was so much “stuff” in her office. Then one day it became clear to me why all those items had been kept in her office.

As I stopped by to catch up with her on a couple of issues, Susanne was busy preparing a “welcome bag.” The welcome bag provides new residents with an array of items to help them settle into their rooms and feel welcomed at Hillsides. The bags are huge, the size of a large duffle bag and filled with stuffed animals, games, electronics, music discs, and some clothing. Each is individually prepared to meet the specific needs and interests of the new resident and personally prepared by Susanne. Needless to say, this is not listed as one of her many responsibilities as the associate executive director, but clearly is one of those activities that she relishes and links her to the children we serve.

Susanne has general oversight over all clinical aspects of the agency. She does a marvelous job and has provided extraordinary leadership on any number of critical issues for the organization. But satisfying these responsibilities does not adequately define who Susanne is. More than anything else, Susanne is the touchstone that keeps all of us rooted in Hillsides mission to create lasting change for all those we serve. We are so fortunate to benefit from her exemplary leadership.

This past week she was honored by THE Magazine as one of Pasadena’s 50 fabulous women. It was great that the community at large was able to celebrate what we all have known for some time--Susanne is indeed fabulous and a great example of the extraordinary staff that we have at Hillsides.

What sets Hillsides apart is not just the quality services that we offer to vulnerable children and their families, but in a particular way it is our extraordinary staff who embrace a “can do” approach to being an essential resource for all those we serve. It is not sufficient to encourage our staff to take up this approach. This really needs to be modeled so that in concrete terms, staff come to understand what it is to be focused and dedicated to the children, youth, and families in our care. Susanne serves as such a model and indeed does a fabulous job at it.

Along with her were two other fabulous women who were honored and are also associated with Hillsides: Susan Pinsky, a long time Board member and Leah Mason, the wife of Board member Brent Mason and member of our support network H100.To Susanne, Susan, Leah and all the Fabulous 50, congratulations!