Philanthropy has always been a part of Suzanne Stone’s life, she said. After working with nonprofit Children’s Miracle Network in Wichita Falls, she moved to Austin in 2013 to lead the Lake Travis Education Foundation, raising funds and building relationships for Lake Travis ISD.
However, since becoming executive director of Susan G. Komen Austin in June, Stone said she has had more opportunities than ever to help the people in her community.
“I never expected to leave the school district, but sometimes a door opens up,” she said. “When [the position at Komen Austin] became available, I was given an incredible opportunity to impact the lives of 2 million people. That doesn’t come around every day.”
Stone said she entered the field of philanthropy because she loves growing relationships and feeds off the energy of other passionate people. With Komen Austin, she said she has maintained the connections she made in LTISD while meeting business owners and residents from Austin and Westlake who want to fight breast cancer.
Stone is seen in the Komen Austin office in Westlake.[/caption]Komen Austin is a nonprofit that is committed to ending breast cancer by raising money to fund research, awareness and preventive services, including mammograms, Stone said. Komen Austin is not a direct service provider itself, but it helps fund other breast cancer-related nonprofits and organizations in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties that offer such services, she said.
For every dollar raised, 75 cents goes to support local programs, and 25 cents go to cancer research, Stone said.
She said she is fortunate not to have a personal connection with breast cancer, but hearing people’s stories and connecting them with Komen Austin has allowed Stone to see how devastating the disease can be.
“It’s not one person who gets breast cancer,” she said. “The disease affects a whole family—your neighbors, your children’s friends and your work. One diagnosis has a massive impact.”
Stone helps organize and attends local events. In February, she attended the inaugural Circle of Promise event, an initiative to reduce breast cancer deaths by promoting awareness of the disease in the African-American community. In September, she attended her first Race For The Cure.
“Race For The Cure is an incredible opportunity to celebrate women and their co-survivors who have fought,” she said. “We meet a lot of people who are without somebody who they have lost to breast cancer, but they are there to celebrate that person’s life.”
