Dr. Susan F. Rice
Dr. Susan F. Rice is a management consultant on fundraising for non-for-profit organizations with her firm, SFR Consulting, and is a senior consulting associate with Brakeley Briscoe Inc. Prior to establishing her business, Dr. Rice was the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. Before this appointment, Dr. Rice held management positions at Business Executives for National Security (BENS) in Washington, D.C., at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, and at Special Olympics International.
Dr. Rice serves on the board of Radlink, Inc – a digital medical imaging company. She is a charter founder of the Women’s Refugee Commission and serves on the board of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. In civic life, she serves as an officer and Regent at Pepperdine University. She is founding chair of Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology’s board of visitors and serves as vice-chair of its campaign cabinet. At UCLA, she serves on the foundation board of directors and the advisory boards for Women and Philanthropy and the Luskin School of Public Affairs. At Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, Indiana) she serves as vice-chair of its board of trustees and co-chair of its campaign, Faith Always, Action Now.
Dr. Rice has received awards from the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Saint Mary’s College (ND) and Pepperdine University. She is co-author of several articles on fundraising. She earned her doctorate in education from Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She holds an MPA degree from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame.
What do you believe is currently the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the United States?
The current most pressing foreign policy issue is the naiveté of the West, especially Western Europe, when it comes to strategic defense and preparedness.
What is your greatest accomplishment in the realm of international relations?
I have been involved as a Board member and Officer of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council for the past eight years. Also, I am a Charter Founder of the Women’s Refugee Commission, an organization that advocates for laws, policies and programs for refugee and internally displaced women, children and young people. The Commission works through the International Rescue Committee in New York.
Where in the world would you most like to volunteer?
I find it immensely rewarding to advocate and serve higher education, particularly UCLA, Pepperdine and Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. I am pleased to be able to serve on boards for those institutions.
What are you reading right now?
I always have a lot going on at once. I am currently re-reading the Lymond Chronicles, a series of 16th century Scottish historical novels by Dorothy Dunnett, and her House of Niccolò series. I’m also reading The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, a novel about a Jewish architectural student in Hungary during World War II and Drown by Junot Diaz. I am in the middle of The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama, and Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities by Martha Nussbaum. At bedside, partially completed, are That Sweet Enemy by Robert and Isabelle Tombs and Mike Chinoy’s Meltdown.
What are some of your favorite global resources online?
I have to say that I don’t do a whole lot of browsing.
I find myself on a number of mailers for electronic newsletters, including: The Layalina Review, the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Upbeat, The Slate newsletter and the Huffington Post Update. I also listen to the radio for 1-2 hours per day, frequenting KCRW-FM for their international news and KUSC-FM for music. I am a newspaper enthusiast; I read the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the LA Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Chronicle of Higher Education with regularity. I subscribe to The Economist, Forbes, National Geographic and the New Yorker.
Why did you become a member of the Pacific Council?
A number of my colleagues invited me to join. I was nominated by Catherine O'Neill, Xandra Kayden, and the late Willie Campbell, with an endorsement from Charlie Wolf. I have found that the Pacific Council hosts interesting and lively dialogues. The teleconference series was a wonderful addition to the programs lineup, the trips are phenomenal and Members Weekend is always terrific – I am sorry to miss it in 2011.