Suzanne Valdivia

Associate, The Glen Price Group: August 2001 – present; Providing conceptual editing and copy editing expertise for a range of federal, state, county and foundation funding proposals. Responsible for ensuring consistency in final version of GPG documents, including formatting, style, and language. Providing project management and scheduling oversight for multiple clients with varying grant proposal deadlines.

Associate Director of Community Relations, YMCA of the East Bay – Oakland, CA: January 1999 – August 2001; Developed and implemented annual communications plan for corporate branch of YMCA serving 7 full-service local branches and over 100 child care centers. Drafted funding proposals and related correspondence submitted to foundations and corporations. Responsible for writing and editing strategic plan correspondence and publicity pieces for President/CEO. Coordinated annual event recognizing volunteers.

Director of Member Involvement/Volunteer Development, YMCA of the East Bay: Coordinated community outreach on behalf of the YMCA for recruitment of 125 volunteers citywide for the Oakland Tribune Holiday Parade. Assisted the President/CEO in developing infrastructure for effective staff and member communication to generate increased volunteer involvement. Conducted volunteer trainings internally and at local businesses. Managed development of website. Collaborated with programmer to design and implement a customized database to track volunteer involvement.

Development Associate, YMCA of the East Bay: Played key role in coordinating successful funding application for $300,000 city grant for collaborative of agencies serving Oakland middle school students. Provided research and editorial assistance for successful grant applications for federal, state and local funds for the YMCA. Created communications pieces, planned special events and coordinated materials for annual fundraising campaign and related press conferences.

Community Affairs Intern, KTVU Television – Oakland, CA: September 1998 – December 1998; Scheduled film shoots, conducted research and preliminary interviews for weekly community affairs television program. Assisted with production of annual holiday television special. Handled inquiries and requests from the public.

Research Associate, The Business Enterprise Trust –Palo Alto, CA: January 1996 – September 1998; Wrote and produced business case studies and educational materials published by Harvard Business School Publishing for graduate level business students featuring pioneering companies whose social initiatives enhance profitability. Producer of educational video fostering financial independence in young women. Performed extensive primary and secondary research on national award finalists. Conducted on camera interviews of corporate CEOs for educational video documentaries. Served as a resource to journalists, non-profits, and government agencies seeking stories of innovative business practices. Helped coordinate awards banquet featuring President Clinton as keynote speaker.

Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the President, Varied Directions & The Hoffman Group (a film/communications company) –Woodside, CA: March 1994 – August 1995; Acted as liaison between the president, freelancers and clients. Assisted president with document production including conference reports, correspondence with clients, bids for services, pitches for film/videos, etc. Conducted research on a range of film and computer technology topics. Coordinated film/video shoots.

Education: Masters Degree in Journalism/Mass Communications, San Jose State, 2000 Bachelors of Science in English/American Literature, University of California at Santa Cruz, 1991

References available on request.