Bio

Suzanne Smith (@snstexas) has a deep belief that everyone is a #changemaker. As an award-winning serial social entrepreneur #socent, she strives to harness the powerful force of #changemakers to create real, scalable #impact. Suzanne holds an #MBA from #Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. In 2009, Suzanne founded Social Impact Architects, a registered #BenefitCorporation, to reshape the business of #socialchange. She combines her MBA know-how with over two decades of experience as a #nonprofit #innovator to serve as a #consultant, adviser and thought partner. She recently co-founded Changemaker Interactive, a gamified e-learning company dedicated to bringing the latest thinking and practical tools to the social sector. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she was a successful #intrapreneur building impactful initiatives at Phoenix House and the American Heart Association. Suzanne inspires others to become #changemakers as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and SMU. She is also a highly sought-after public speaker at conferences nationwide and was a featured speaker at TEDxTurtleCreekWomen. She is also the author of Social TrendSpotter (@socialtrendspot), one of the sector’s top blogs according to the #HuffingtonPost. Suzanne is frequently interviewed by regional and national media to share her expertise on social issues and social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, women as entrepreneurs, and social trends and has published articles in #Forbes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, See Change, Nonprofit Business Advisor, Upstart and Grantmakers in Health. For her outstanding work as a thought leader, she was recognized nationally with the Next Generation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the #SocialEnterprise Alliance. A third-generation Texan, her roots run deep through her work to improve her community with Leadership Dallas, Leadership North Texas, Dallas Summit, and the Junior League of Dallas. She has served a number of appointed posts for the City of Dallas and has served on the Dallas Commission on Homelessness and the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty. She was honored to receive the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award in 2012 and the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Young ATHENA Leadership Award in 2014.