Communicator with social work roots comes full circle
“Phoenix is a perfect place to live and work,” exclaims Susan de Queljoe, St. Vincent de Paul’s Director of Community Relations & Business Strategies, while sharing stories about her well-traveled communications career. “There is a vibrant and somewhat undiscovered business community here with tremendous and diverse talent. Many people in our business and public relations communities could easily work at big firms in Chicago or New York, but they make the lifestyle choice to be here.”
Susan herself is among these talented communicators, having earned an M.B.A. in Marketing from New York University and a B.A. in Communications from Michigan State University. During her career she has shared her skills in some interesting geographies. Several years ago she returned to Phoenix, having been born here but raised in Detroit.
“My mother was a social worker and had a Masters degree, which was unusual for a woman at that time. She had aspirations of my being the same, but I loved working at the college radio station so I majored in TV and radio production. I told my mother I could always be a social worker later.”
“After working a while in the broadcasting, I became fascinated with the advertising end of things and ended up with a Communications degree. After graduation, I worked first for a Chicago ad agency, then one in New York, and later in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Her knowledge of poverty over time formed the spirit of compassion and approach she brings to working with St. Vincent de Paul volunteers and donors.
In high school, a friend volunteered with an inner-city Detroit woman who baked bread and took it to poor families. Susan joined in and learned first-hand how challenging seemingly simple things like putting food on the table could be.
She also traveled with a mission to Appalachia during high school, and in the backwoods of Kentucky encountered more vivid imagery.
“I saw broken down cars, litter outside of very small homes, kids with dirty tee shirts… there were such contrasts between inner city and rural poverty. However, the worst situations I’ve ever witnessed were in Indonesia.”
While living in Asia during the mid-nineties, Susan participated in an adventurous boat trip through the Indonesian islands. “Rugged places, off the beaten path,” she describes.
“In Agats (Irian Jaya), there were many children with red hair, which is a sign of malnutrition, and people with swollen bellies and body sores. Nevertheless, these people were so welcoming and willing to share what little they had with visitors. I’ve never been in such a devastatingly poor place, and I’ve never felt so out of place. Being there made me feel too fortunate. I realized I had to do more.”
So after that trip she met the Catholic Bishop of Agats who needed funds to send children overseas for schooling. She quickly helped him raise $150,000.
Fast forwarding to present day finds Susan immersed in community relations activities for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. Her talent for building relationships with local media and businesses helps promote the work of SVdP so people can better understand what the organization does and become more involved.
“It dawned on me only recently that I’ve come full circle,” she says. “What I do now with St. Vincent de Paul is a perfect pairing of my communication skills and desire to honor my mother’s social work.”
Susan also directs the Society’s eight Valley thrift stores, overseeing call center, shipping and warehouse processes that bring in goods for sale. Her continuing challenge with the stores is to keep making them more profitable because revenues support SVdP programs and services.
She explains that there is no other organization like SVdP in Phoenix that provides so many different services, to so many people, through so many volunteers; 16,000 volunteers in all.
“Every month we help keep thousands of families from becoming homeless in some big and equally important small ways.”
Take St. Vincent de Paul’s dental clinic, for example. It sees over a hundred children each month.
“These kids are in such pain they can’t even focus on their school work,” Susan explains. “Imagine being in second grade trying to learn something when you have constant pain in your mouth. Our dental and medical clinics provide services for people who otherwise would not have any health care. We’re grateful to the volunteers, doctors, dentists, donors and employees who help people become healthier day in and day out.”
Susan also suggests that there are many small, yet important ways that St. Vincent de Paul makes a difference in the lives of homeless people and working poor families.
“It’s unfortunate that too many families have to live right on the edge,” she continues. “Imagine a father working two jobs to support his family. He gets a flat tire and doesn’t have enough money to fix it, so he misses work, loses one or both of his jobs, and now instead of barely paying the rent he can’t even come close to covering it.”
“A new tire would mitigate this whole mess. We see clients experiencing the chain reaction of poverty and misfortune every day, and we keep finding ways to help with items like auto repair so they can remain focused on moving to economic stability.”
St. Vincent de Paul charity dining rooms also contribute significantly to the community. Working poor families stretch their budgets by having meals in the dining halls and retaining their money for other essentials like clothes, rent and utilities. For homeless individuals, these meals are often their only hot meal for the day.
For Susan, families in the dining rooms, children in the dental clinic, shoppers in the thrift stores, and volunteers keeping it all running, with the gracious aid of donor funds is a daily occurrence. She feels fortunate to be an integral part of St. Vincent de Paul, no matter what new situation each day brings.
“Sometimes we’re just the spare tire that gets a father to work, but whatever the need, big or small, it’s heartening to see people join together to serve others.”
