Presidents' Council
Suzanne Koepplinger is a seasoned nonprofit and philanthropic professional with over 20 years’ experience in executive leadership and creative problem-solving. She is a highly effective network builder, leader of community-based transformational systems’ change and an experienced trainer and public speaker, both at home and abroad.
Suzanne is the founder of Catalyst North Consulting, dedicated to fostering healing centered organizational cultures and leadership. Previously, she co-created and led the Catalyst Initiative, launched by the George Family Foundation in 2014 and based at the Minneapolis Foundation from 2018 to 2022. The Catalyst Initiative’s purpose to honor and foster culturally authentic self-care practices to advance health and well-being was realized through targeted grant-making, shared learning and unleashing bold community leadership.
She also served for ten years as the executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center in Minneapolis, where she led the country’s first research on and community response to the sex trafficking of American Indian women and girls. In that role she twice testified before U.S. Senate congressional committees on sexual exploitation and was part of a multi-stakeholder coalition to create Minnesota’s Safe Harbor legislation. She is a certified trainer with the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC) and the Office for Victims of Crime Training & Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC).
Suzanne has an M.A. in the Art of Leadership from Augsburg University and a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Idaho. She lives in Minneapolis and serves on President’s Council for Pathfinder International, and on the board for Artspace Projects, where she leads the board’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Task Force. She is happiest when on a remote river or hiking trail.