What Makes Susie Run .. and Why You Should Get Involved Too!

If you have ever volunteered in Scarsdale, you have undoubtedly run into Susie Rush, a person whose resume of volunteer activities is an equal match to her impressive professional credentials. Her list of community jobs can fill an entire page. She’s often sought out to help because she’s smart, diligent, patient, detail-oriented and willing to take on tasks that others turn down. I have worked with her on the League of Women Voters, the School Board Nominating Committee and the Citizen’s Nominating Committee – but those assignments are just a few of the jobs she has held. Her complete “volunteer” resume appears at the end of this piece.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania law school and a former corporate attorney, Susie has been serving for the last eight years as a Legislative Analyst to State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin working on legislation that Paulin proposes to be enacted into law. But neither her job, nor her family responsibilities have stopped Susie from continuing to volunteer. Among other things, she is currently Treasurer of the Scarsdale Foundation, First Vice President of the Scarsdale League of Women Voters, on the boards of Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service, the Scarsdale Forum, and the League of Women Voters of Westchester, the Publicity Chair for the Youth Employment Service of Scarsdale, and a member of the Coalition against Domestic Violence.

In an effort to highlight people in the community who do more than their fair share, we reached out to Susie to find out what makes her run – or rush as the case may be. Though she was initially reluctant to be featured on the site, she eventually relented. Here is what she shared.

Where did you grow up and go to high school? I grew up in a suburb just outside Columbus, Ohio. I attended the local public high school, Northland H.S.

As a student, were you self-motivated or did your parents pressure/encourage you to do well? I don’t ever remember either of my parents telling me I had to do well, but somehow I knew it was expected. It may have been because my older brother did well so I knew I had to do well too. I was a pretty diligent student, practiced a lot (I played flute in the band and orchestra and piccolo in the marching band) and got involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. I enjoyed being busy.

As a parent, do you think your parenting style is similar to your parents? I think my parents were a lot less child-centric. Kids weren’t the focus of attention and were meant more to be seen rather than heard. At the same time, my brother and I were expected to contribute to the running of the house, especially because both of my parents worked full-time. There was never a question that we had to do chores, without excuse or complaint. I, on the other hand, never insisted on requiring my sons to do any chores. I made the mistake of thinking their time was more valuable than mine (“oh, he’s doing his homework so I can’t make him do that”). I didn’t drag them on errands even if it was on the way home with them because I didn’t want them to be inconvenienced. How silly is that?

Did you practice law after you graduated and if so, where? After law school, I started out at a small law firm on Wall Street, practicing a little bit of everything – corporate, real estate, and trusts and estates law. I moved to a firm midtown where I became a partner specializing in corporate law – mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, public offerings and bank financings.

What made you decide to leave the law – if you did? When we knew we were going to have our second child, we wanted to leave the city for the suburbs. I didn’t want to get a call from the nurse’s office that my son, just starting kindergarten, was sick and I’d be stuck on a train to Scarsdale. I also knew that it would be impossible to do my job well as a corporate attorney if I had to leave the office by 5. 5 in the afternoon was when a lot of our corporate clients would start calling us! I didn’t want both my husband, who was an investment banker at the time, and me coming home late every night. One of us had to be around and I wanted to be the one. I continued to practice law after we moved here, as general counsel to a software company in Westchester. That job provided me with reasonable working hours and the proximity I needed. Unfortunately, that company was acquired by Oracle and its nearest corporate office was in New Jersey. There was no way I was going to go back and forth on the Tappan Zee. So I worked as an independent contractor for another few years. I finally stopped because I was doing too much and trying to do it all perfectly and ended up feeling either completely inadequate or exhausted.

What initially attracted you to Scarsdale and when did you move here? We looked at the towns with the shortest commute time from the city and the best public schools.

How old were your children at the time? Our oldest was a little over 4 and my youngest was 2 months old.

Did you get into volunteering immediately? No, I was too overwhelmed with getting settled in to the suburban life, finding a reliable sitter (that was a nightmare) and DRIVING everywhere. I really missed being able to walk everywhere. I often found myself close to tears because I was always getting lost.

What motivates you to take on so many community responsibilities? Scarsdale is such a wonderful community in so many ways. I’ve always believed we should give back in whatever way we can.

From your resume, it looks like you have taken on almost every task imaginable here - which activities have you found the most rewarding and which have been the toughest? I started out with one, putting out the Quaker Ridge PTA newsletter back in the days when it was on paper and got sent home in the backpacks. That led to something else, which led to something else, and I just kept going. It’s difficult to single out the most rewarding activity since so many have been rewarding, but one of the most personally gratifying would certainly be my tenure as PT Council President. Serving in that role gave me the opportunity to work with outstanding individuals, including district and school administrators and staff, school board members, teachers, and PTA leaders. It truly was a privilege. The toughest had to be serving as PTA President at Quaker Ridge when 9/11 occurred. It was obviously a devastating time and I wanted to do what I could to help our community come together in support of each other.

Now that you work for Amy Paulin have you had to cut back your volunteer activities? As it happens, when I started working for Amy, I got the sense that parents weren’t as “needed” a presence at either the Middle School or the High School as they might have been at elementary school. And my son who’s at the high school now definitely does not like to see me there. So I stay active volunteering with community organizations such as the League of Women Voters and the Scarsdale Foundation.

How many hours a week to you work for Amy? Do you draft legislation for her? Although I’m technically a part-timer, at times I feel like I’m working full-time. But that’s probably because of my personality (I have a hard time saying no). Amy comes up with ideas for legislation from a variety of sources –- articles in the media, constituents, advocates, focused examination of issues she’s interested in, and sometimes one of us in the office will have an issue that we want to address. Once there’s an idea for legislation, I work with Amy and the relevant stakeholders to draft legislation and negotiate with various parties to come up with a bill that can pass both houses and ultimately be signed by the Governor. It can be a painstaking, often frustrating process, but Amy is incredibly dogged and astute at getting bills done. I don’t think people realize how difficult the process is and how effective she is at it.

How has your background as a lawyer helped you in your volunteer work and your current work as a legislative analyst? There are a number of skills one develops as a corporate lawyer – communicating effectively, listening, advocating a position but having the flexibility to compromise, analyzing and synthesizing a lot of information, crafting solutions that meet the needs of the client but that are also acceptable to the other parties involved, being patient and persistent … doing whatever has to be done to get the deal done. All of these are valuable tools to help reach one’s objective, whether it’s in a volunteer or professional setting.

What are your plans for the future? Still too early to tell. But there is one thing I plan to do - go back to Africa with our kids and their significant others. We went on a safari last year and it was the best trip we’ve ever had.

What do you do for fun? Travel? Exercise? Good food and wine with good friends, reading a great historical fiction novel. Exercise? I did none until I moved here. I took up a bunch of things over time (mainly because it seemed all I was doing was eating or sitting in a car or at a meeting) – running, tennis, golf, yoga and “going to the gym” -- to varying degrees of success. All exact some form of pain – mental or physical – but I couldn’t see giving any of them up. I love spending as much time as I can in Kiawah, SC where there’s all of the above plus biking, beach and great food, and for some reason not as much pain!

What would you tell new parents moving to Scarsdale about getting involved? I think it can be incredibly overwhelming to move here, especially if it’s the first time living in the suburbs and you’re coming from the city. So I’d say to those new to Scarsdale to resist the inclination to stay home and get settled in. Instead of unpacking the last boxes, go for coffee with your neighbor, sign up to have a buddy at school assigned to you, play Rec tennis, join a book club. Go to a PTA meeting and find out about your child’s school and the volunteer opportunities there – you can also ask the PTA president or the class mom of your child’s class -- so that you find something that fits. Get involved right away! If not with the PTA at your child’s school, maybe the local temple or church or one of the community organizations like the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale or the Junior League who always welcome new members and are happy with whatever time you can give. You can start with one activity and see how it goes. Whether you work outside the home or at home, you can find something that is manageable for you. When you do find that something, you’ll discover not only that there are people who share your interests, background and experiences but also that the work you’re doing is rewarding. After a couple of years, I would also suggest getting involved in the nonpartisan election system like the school board nominating committee. Serving on the SBNC is a wonderful way to meet people outside your particular school area with diverse backgrounds and ages, and provides you with the opportunity to learn about the governance of our school system and to play a vital role in selecting the individuals responsible for developing and managing the $141+M budget for the school district and setting policy for our schools. Lastly, I’d say take a moment just for yourself once a day or at least once a week to read, exercise or just be.

For me, feeling comfortable and getting involved go hand in hand - getting involved is the best way to feel at ease in your new community, and the more comfortable you are, the more involved you’ll be. And I am certain that as you volunteer, you will be fortunate to meet and work with the many, many wonderful role models who give tirelessly to our community who will inspire you to do even more. (Then you’ll have to ask them how to say “no”!)

More about Susie:

Currently Susie is Treasurer and Trustee, Scarsdale Foundation; First Vice President and Director, League of Women Voters of Scarsdale; Coordinator, Candidates Forums, and Director, League of Women Voters of Westchester; Director, Scarsdale Family Counseling Service and Scarsdale Forum; Member, Coalition against Domestic Violence; HS PTA Liaison, Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs & Alcohol; and Publicity Chair, Youth Employment Service of Scarsdale. She also serves on the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Secondary Schools Committee. Previously, she has served as a moderator in League of Women Voters candidates’ forum and in a number of capacities for the Scarsdale League of Women Voters. She has also served as: Chair, Budget Committee, League of Women Voters of Westchester; Co-chair, Scarsdale Foundation Scholarship Committee; President, Scarsdale PT Council; President, Quaker Ridge PTA; Chair, Scarsdale High School PTA Scholarship Fund for College; Member and Chair, Scarsdale Bowl Committee; Member and Chair, Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee; Member, Administrative Committee, Joint Committee, Citizens’ Nominating Committee, and Procedure Committee; Member, Interdependence Institute, STI Policy Board, Scarsdale Teen Center Adult Board, STEP Board; member and chair various committees Quaker Ridge, SMS and SHS PTAs; and Director, Kid’s B.A.S.E. and The Little School.