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About Me
Susie Sutphin is an interdisciplinary systems leader with more than 20 years of experience building mission-driven organizations, developing operational infrastructure, and strengthening community-centered initiatives across food systems, environmental organizations, and social impact work.
Her career has consistently focused on helping ambitious ideas become operationally sustainable realities by designing the systems, partnerships, and implementation structures needed to support long-term impact.
Susie began her career in the outdoor industry, first in publishing and later at Patagonia, where she managed the company’s Ambassadors and Events Program and helped tell the stories behind Patagonia’s athletes, environmental values, and community partnerships. She later joined the Wild & Scenic Film Festival at the South Yuba River Citizens League, where she developed and scaled the festival’s national tour program from 10 host cities to more than 110 communities across the United States, helping grassroots organizations use film as a tool for outreach, engagement, and capacity building.
In 2011, inspired by growing concerns around climate change, agriculture, and regional resilience, Susie embarked on a self-designed independent study exploring sustainable food systems, regenerative agriculture, and equitable regional economies. Over two years, she traveled across the country studying agroecology, soil biology, food distribution systems, and community-based agriculture while documenting her journey through her blog, Local Food Chronicles.
That research ultimately led to the founding of Tahoe Food Hub in 2013, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient regional food system for the Tahoe region.
Sometimes you need a guide. Sometimes you need specialized expertise. Sometimes you need someone to roll up their sleeves. Sometimes you need someone to bring an idea to life. I meet you where you are.
Under Susie’s leadership, Tahoe Food Hub grew from a startup initiative with five farms and five restaurants into a regional food distribution network serving farms, schools, hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, and communities throughout the Northern Sierra. The organization developed an earned-income food distribution model designed to support small and mid-sized farms using sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices while simultaneously increasing community access to local food.
After a decade as Executive Director, Susie transitioned into a Senior Advisor role to support organizational succession and future leadership. Most recently, she worked with Center for Land-Based Learning in Yolo County, California, helping lead community food access initiatives and mobile farmers market programs serving low-income neighborhoods and senior communities.
Today, Susie helps mission-driven organizations strengthen operational systems, develop sustainable program models, build strategic partnerships, and translate vision into practical implementation.
When she’s not working to strengthen regional food systems and community resilience, Susie can usually be found exploring the Sierra Nevada on skis, bike, or foot with her dog, Charlie. Her experiences in the mountains continue to shape her belief that meaningful change happens through relationships, stewardship, and communities working together — one place at a time.
© 2026 Susie Sutphin. All Rights Reserved.
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