Susie Kaeser is currently serving her sixth year on the board of Home Repair Resource Center. She recalls, “I was drawn to HRRC for a couple of reasons – its history and reputation as an organization that delivers services in a very personal and individually responsive way, and because the mission of maintaining strong communities is the mission that has driven my life as a community activist. It is exactly what matters to me! And maintaining the housing stock is crucial to successful integration and resources to support strong schools. It all goes together!”
Susie was inspired by the way HRRC’s board stepped up to lead the recent transition process and search for a new executive director. She explains, “I saw wonderful leadership and a serious level of commitment among my fellow board members, many of whom were new to the board. It was just terrific to see volunteers who care deeply about our community and the contribution of HRRC to its success lead the way. Super stewardship! Boards are responsible for the success of their organizations, and our board took that responsibility seriously – with a great result.”
Like other board members, Susie sees HRRC’s biggest opportunity as growing the organization. “We’ve got a great tradition, a great reputation, and a relevant agenda. The greatest challenge is to build on our strengths, broaden our reach, but not lose our best qualities. We have energetic new leadership that can help shape work that is appropriate for 2015 and beyond, but we will need to build a much broader and more diverse funding base to realize our ambitions and potential.”
Susie is a 34-year resident of Compton Road in Cleveland Heights. She remains an active volunteer at Boulevard Elementary School (“my favorite CH-UH school,”) and a public school advocate. She has continued to focus on education by writing a column in the Heights Observer on “The Common Good” and as a member of the Heights Coalition for Public Education since retiring as director of Reaching Heights. Susie and husband Jerry Blake have two adult children “who grew up in the public schools and continue the family tradition of social justice.”