Susan
Smylie is the mother of four children (ages
20, 16, 13, and 6), web developer, and community
volunteer.
Susan’s
volunteer work has included La Leche League
Leader, foster parent, Odyssey of the Mind
Coach, Council of Stewards and Youth Director
at Celebration Circle, and for the last 3
years, anti-genocide activist.
As
an Odyssey of the Mind coach, Susan learned
that creativity is a skill that can be developed
through activities that encourage “outside
the box” thinking. She has enjoyed seeing
creativity expand in the children she has
worked with as they start thinking of different
ways of viewing whatever situation they are
in.
This
year Susan was selected as one of twenty Genocide
Intervention Network Carl Wilkens Fellows.
Carl Wilkens was the only American to stay
in Rwanda during the genocide there in 1994.
The Fellowship is part of Genocide Intervention
Network’s strategy to create a permanent
anti-genocide constituency in honor of Wilkens.
Since
becoming an anti-genocide activist, Susan
has met some amazing students who are truly
the leaders in this arena. She has also learned
an enormous amount about how to be an effective
advocate for a cause and has seen first-hand
the difference individuals can make in the
world.
