As women in business, we often assume that to rise to the top we’ve got to put on a red cape and be Ginger Rogers – doing everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards, and in heels. Similarly, we hear all too often that we should ‘fake it until we make it’, but that’s simply not true.
 
Suzanne Durkee is here to help dispel the stories we sometimes tell ourselves about leadership in business. Women don’t need to be the superheroes of our organizations. Instead, we build coalitions. When we orient our teams towards engagement with real problems, we can drop the time spent convincing others that we’re right for the job and become the leaders who drive the most impact. Join us at Union County’s Women in Business Luncheon at the Rolling Hills Country Club for a special keynote and Q&A with trailblazing business leader, Suzanne Durkee. 

In 1984 Suzanne became the first female manager in a civil engineering firm.  After graduating from business school in 1990 she started her own strategic marketing company, Upstream, where she helped launch brands and personalities that would become nationally recognized: Stonewall Kitchens, William Arthur Stationery, The Knot, Tea Forté, Barefoot Contessa, and more.  She sold her company in 2001 and joined General Dynamics right after 9-11.  There she had the opportunity to work for a female president, seeing up close how women lead in an all-male-dominated industry at the Fortune 100 level.  
  
After retiring, a chance encounter with another female business owner coaxed her back into the business world. She’s since led Juneberry Ridge as its CEO, helping the organization realize its vision to change the way the world grows its food, for the better. Juneberry Ridge is a 750-acre regenerative farm, education center, and events venue in Norwood, North Carolina. It’s become a destination to reconnect with nature and discover there’s real health in knowing where (and how) your food is produced.