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Susan believes in giving back to the community and has offered strategies, pro bono, on fund raising and public relations tactics for a variety of non-profit organizations. Susan has participated in a wide variety of community service projects as a former member of the Junior League of San Diego (California) and Junior League of Charleston (South Carolina). Some of these included organizing and conducting training sessions on fund raising and grant writing, coordinating an art exhibit of autistic artists, as well as working on various fund raising projects that raised support to assist Junior League sponsored community programs. Susan believes that education is paramount to the success of individuals as well as to our country. Aside from authoring several curricular material packets relating to the environment, science, and history that have been distributed throughout the country, Susan teaches a Career Planning Workshop to high school students. Using a 110+ page workbook that she created, this 540-minute interactive workshop teaches students how to complete an employment application and create a resume’ with powerful accomplishment statements that showcase their special skills and talents. They learn to prepare for an interview by creating their own self-promoting summary, formulating questions to ask the interviewer and rehearsing how best to answer interview questions. For the culminating activity at the end of the workshop, students search for a job, prepare a cover letter, create a resume and experience a mock job interview. Susan currently serves on the board of directors of Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union in Charleston, SC and the Summerville Community Orchestra. She completed Leadership Charleston in 1997 and was named in Who's Who in America, The World Who's Who of Women, Who's Who in the West, Who's Who in the South, and Who's Who in the Southeast. In 1998, Susan ran for Dorchester County Council, where she took the incumbent to a run-off.
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| Susan Jeanne Mertz, Impact! President |
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Susan Mertz has worked for more than 15 years in communications and organization development. She has extensive experience managing communications and strategic organizational development or companies and nonprofit organizations. Susan is an accomplished facilitator, a successful manager in leading organizations to reach their mission goals, a published technical and creative writer, a proven fundraiser and an inspirational educator who has developed creative concepts and comprehensive programs for a variety of business clients, for use in public and private schools and service organizations. She has experience developing and executing communications strategies, creating and writing newsletters, direct mail pieces, press releases, feature articles, grant proposals, RFPs, policies and procedures manuals, brochure text, exhibit text and curricular materials. She conducts marketing surveys, focus group studies and customer service surveys. She is also an experienced leader in nonprofit board training and a planner of corporate meetings and other events. Before founding IMPACT! Public Relations in 1991, Susan worked extensively with museums and nonprofits including the National Museum of American History, Zoological Society of San Diego, Chrysler Museum of Art, and San Diego Space and Science Foundation. She completed her undergraduate work at Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, where she majored in biology and chemistry and obtained a Master of Arts in Teaching - Museum Education degree from George Washington University, Washington, DC. She also studied with experts at the Smithsonian Institution. |
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