Ellen Susman
{{Infobox person
| name = Ellen Spencer
| image =
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| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|10|16}}{{cite web|title=Ellen Spencer, Director|url=http://www.allgov.com/officials/susman-ellen?officialid=30334|website=AllGov|accessdate=13 November 2017}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
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| spouse = {{marriage|Stephen Susman|1999|2020|reason=d.}}
| children = 2 children, 2 stepchildren
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Television journalist, anchor, host, producer and moderator.
| years_active =
| known_for = Former director, US Department of State Art in Embassies Program{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=122013|title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts|date=September 6, 2011}}
| notable_works = Balancing Your Life with Ellen Susman;
Philadelphia's KYW-TV Evening/PM Magazine host;
}}
Ellen Spencer Susman (born October 16, 1950) is an American journalist, philanthropist, political appointee and television producer. She was nominated by Barack Obama in September 2011 to serve as a member of his Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She served from 2013 to 2016 as the director of the US Department of State Art in Embassies Program,{{cite web|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/director-of-the-art-in-embassies-program-who-is-ellen-susman-170306?news=860107|title=Director of the Art in Embassies Program: Who is Ellen Susman?|publisher=AllGov.com|date=March 6, 2017|accessdate=November 12, 2017}} a public-private partnership of American and international artists, collectors, galleries, foundations, museums and universities.{{cite web|title=Mission Statement|url=http://www.artinembassies.com/about.aspx|website=Art In Embassies|accessdate=19 September 2017}}
Life and education
Susman attended the George School in Newtown, PA and Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, NJ.{{cite web|title=Alumnae|url=http://www.stuartschool.org/alumnae|website=Stuart School|accessdate=27 November 2017}} Her father was president of Spencer Industries, a family-owned company in Princeton, NJ that manufactured boys' and men's clothes for large retailers.{{cite web|title=Gordon Spencer obituary|url=http://www.centraljersey.com/obituaries/gordon-w-spencer/article_236a668b-6789-5869-98dd-a2f75e07723f.html|website=www.centraljersey.com|accessdate=18 November 2017}} She graduated from Briarcliff College in 1972 with a B.A. in English.{{cite web|title=Director of the Art in Embassies Program|url=https://www.cah.utexas.edu/news/press_release.php?press=press_dangerpay|accessdate=1 September 2017}}
She married Stephen Susman, a trial attorney, in 1999. She lives part-time in Houston, Texas and New York City, formerly with her husband; he died of COVID-19 on July 14, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://sunlightfoundation.com/2014/01/15/most-likely-to-exceed-whos-poised-to-double-down-post-mccutcheon/|title=Most likely to exceed: Who's poised to double down post-McCutcheon|date=15 January 2014|publisher=}}{{Cite web|url=https://texaslawbook.net/houston-lawyer-steve-susmans-valiant-battle-is-over/|title = Steve Susman, Pioneering Trial Attorney (1941-2020)|date = 15 July 2020}}
Susman is an accomplished equestrian and owns and exhibits American Saddlebred horses,{{cite news|last1=Coup|first1=Betts|title=Ellen Susman: The Show Horse Industry's Own Wonder Woman|publisher=American Horseman|date=July 2017}} an avocation shared with her mother, Babette Spencer Santarelli Williams, a recognized equitation instructor and trainer of American Saddlebreds.{{cite web|title=Babbett Spencer Santarelli Williams wins "2013 Audrey Gutridge Memorial Award"|url=https://fernandinaobserver.com/2013/09/16/babbett-spencer-santarelli-williams-wins-2013-audrey-gutridge-memorial-award/|website=Fernandina Observer|date=16 September 2013|accessdate=3 December 2017}}
Early career
A former broadcast journalist, Susman began her career in 1977 at KYW-TV, a Westinghouse Broadcasting station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosting Evening/PM Magazine.{{cite news|last1=Lloyd|first1=Jack|title="Evening Magazine": Calm creativity|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=July 22, 1079}}{{cite news|last1=Scanlon|first1=Karen|title=Tentative Pact at Journal|publisher=Philadelphia Daily News|date=January 24, 1980}} In 1994, she created, produced and hosted The Aspen Institute Television Show, which "featured guests from government, business and media for discussions about leadership."
In 2001, Susman hosted The Myth of Superwoman, a conference that focused on the balancing act women face in their personal and career lives. Widespread interest in this issue led her to produce and host Superwoman Central, a public television show that aired on Houston PBS in 2005.{{cite web|title=Local personality to launch new television program|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2005/05/16/daily4.html|website=Houston Business Journal|accessdate=1 September 2017}}
In 2007, Susman created and produced Balancing Your Life, a program broadcast nationally on PBS that addressed the challenges of managing career and family.{{cite web|title=Ellen Susman to Host Special Live Call-in Show October 24 on RSU Public TV|url=http://www.rsu.edu/ellen-susman-to-host-special-live-call-in-show-oct-24-on-rsu-public-tv/|website=Rogers State University|date=17 October 2007|accessdate=28 October 2017}} Filmed on location throughout the country, the program featured interviews with prominent and professionally diverse guests, including Chris Evert, Frances Beinecke, Nell Merlino, Janet Gurwitch, Cindy Pawlcyn, Consuelo Mack, Eileen Collins, Sue Naegle, Kuki Gallman, Kavita Ramdas, Maria Blanco and Dana Buchman. Her interview with Rosanne Cash was nominated for a 2007 Lone Star EMMY Award for Outstanding Achievement Interview/Discussion.{{cite web|title=2007 Lone Star EMMY Nominations|url=http://lonestaremmy.org/awards/archives/2007-lone-star-emmy-nominations/|website=The National Academy of Television of Arts & Sciences - Lone Star Chapter|accessdate=1 September 2017}}
Susman edited Danger Pay: Memoir of a Photojournalist in the Middle East,{{cite book|title=Middle Eastern Studies: History|url=https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/spedan|website=University of Texas Press|date=5 October 2008|accessdate=1 September 2017}} written by her late sister, Carol Spencer Mitchell (1954–2004). The memoir was published in November 2008 by University of Texas Press,{{cite web|title=Center Announces Release of Danger Pay, Memoir of Photojournalist Carol Spencer Mitchell|url=https://www.cah.utexas.edu/news/press_release.php?press=press_dangerpay|website=Briscoe Center for American History|accessdate=1 September 2017}} and was selected by the 2009 University Press Books Committee as an outstanding-rated title essential to most public and secondary school libraries.{{cite web|title=Outstanding-Rated Titles and Reviews|url=http://www.aaupnet.org/librarybooks/2009/Outstanding.html|website=Association of American University Presses|accessdate=1 September 2017}} Susman collaborated with museum curator Anne Wilkes Tucker to create the Carol Spencer Mitchell Photographic Archive, which consists of approximately 60,000 photos and is housed at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.{{cite web|title=Texas Archival Resources Online|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00542/cah-00542.html|website=UT Educational Library|accessdate=1 September 2017}}
Susman has served on the Boards of Annie's List, National Jewish Democratic Council,{{cite web|title=Four 'Dazzling Democratic Dames' to be honored|url=http://jhvonline.com/four-dazzling-democratic-dames-to-be-honored-p5258.htm|website=Jewish Herald Voice|accessdate=14 November 2017}} American Leadership Forum in Houston, Recipe for Success,{{cite web|last1=Hodge|first1=Shelby|title=Recipe for Success cooked up some tasty fashion fun at Tootsies|url=http://houston.culturemap.com/news/society/02-05-10-Recipe-for-success/|website=CultureMap|accessdate=14 November 2017}} the Texas Tribune, the Democracy Alliance, and the Blanton Museum of Art.{{cite web|work=Blanton Museum of Art|url=https://blantonmuseum.org/about/national-leadership-board/|title=National Leadership Board|accessdate=12 November 2017}} She has been an Advisory Council Member of the United States Public Service Academy and the University of Houston Friends of Women's Studies and serves on the National Councils of the Aspen Art Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/ellen-susman|title=Ellen Susman|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=November 12, 2017}} She currently serves on the Rothko Chapel board of directors and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Development board. Susman was one of the recipients of the 2025 Hirshhorn National Arts Award, presented to women whose contributions are central to the cultural life of the nation.{{cite web |title=Hirshhorn Annual Spring Luncheon |url=https://hirshhorn.si.edu/explore/annual-spring-luncheon/ |website=Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden |access-date=9 April 2025}}
Political career
In 2013, Susman co-founded The Texas Future Project, a fund-raising corporation that focuses on policy as well as politics.{{cite web|last1=Fikac|first1=Peggy|title=Democratic heavy-hitters look to build progressive majority in Texas|date=24 February 2014|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Democratic-heavy-hitters-look-to-build-5260902.php|publisher=Houston Chronicle|accessdate=12 October 2017}} A Texas art collector and philanthropist, Susman contributed $100,000 to the super PAC supporting candidate Obama and indicated an interest in the directorship of the Art In Embassies Program.{{cite news|last1=Confessore|first1=Nicholas|title=Well-Trod Path: Political Donor to Ambassador|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/us/politics/well-trod-path-political-donor-to-ambassador.html|work=The New York Times|date=19 January 2013|accessdate=12 October 2017}} During his presidential campaign, Susman raised $1.1 million for Obama, more than any other woman in Texas.{{cite web|last1=Dunham|first1=Richard|title=Texas political cash engulfs national political scene|date=3 November 2012|url=http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Texas-political-cash-engulfs-national-political-4006049.php|publisher=Houston Chronicle|accessdate=12 October 2017}}
During her tenure as director at Art In Embassies, Susman focused on developing innovative new partnerships in both the public and private sectors expanding the profile, collection, and outreach efforts; bringing artists to South Africa, Rome,{{cite web|title=VILLA TAVERNA OPENING WITH AIE DIRECTOR ELLEN SUSMAN|url=https://art.state.gov/portfolio/villa-taverna-opening-with-aie-director-ellen-susman/|website=Art In Embassies|accessdate=23 October 2017}} Berlin, London, Bern, Doha and The Hague, among others; forming partnerships with the Institute of American Indian Arts to create a portfolio of work for new American Embassies; and furthering Ambassadors' outreach in their respective host country communities.{{cite web|last1=Schilling|first1=Vincent|title=Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Biden Honor 5 Native Artists at the VP's Home|url=https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/dr-jill-biden-and-vice-president-biden-honor-5-native-artists-at-the-vps-home/|website=Indian Country Today|accessdate=5 November 2017}}
She also expanded the program by partnering with Ambassador Patrick Gaspard to bring U.S. artists to South Africa,{{cite web|title=The Art in Embassies Program Brings South African and U.S. Artists Together|url=https://za.usembassy.gov/the-art-in-embassies-program-brings-south-african-and-u-s-artists-together/|website=U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa|date=5 June 2014|accessdate=1 September 2017}} fulfilling the program's mission to create international dialogue and transform lives through art. This relationship led to an opportunity for Ambassador Gaspard to participate with other ambassadors and artists in a program at the Aspen Institute titled Cultural Diplomacy: Why Art Matters, which Susman facilitated.{{cite web|title=Society of Fellows Forum: Cultural Diplomacy: Why Art Matters|url=https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/society-fellows-forum-cultural-diplomacy-why-art-matters/|website=The Aspen Institute|accessdate=1 September 2017}}
From 2011 to 2012, Susman served on the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Philanthropy
Ellen Susman is president of the Susman Family Foundation, which funds various charitable causes involving the arts, environment and social justice. In 2010, the foundation gave $5 million to the University of Texas Law School, and, in 2011, donated $11 million to the Yale University Art Gallery.{{cite web|url=https://news.yale.edu/2011/12/21/yale-university-art-gallery-announces-11-million-gift-name-new-exhibition-spaces|title=Yale University Art Gallery announces $11 million gift to name new exhibition spaces|publisher=Yale University|date=December 21, 2011|accessdate=November 12, 2017}}
References
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External links
- {{official website|http://www.ellensusman.com/}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/EllenSusman Ellen Susman YouTube channel]
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Category:American television hosts
Category:American women television journalists
Category:Obama administration personnel
Category:American female equestrians
Category:American women television hosts
Category:20th-century American sportswomen