Suzanne Russo

Suzanne is chief executive officer for Pecan Street. Prior to joining the organization in 2010, she was director of sustainability initiatives for New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development where she led the development of green building and sustainable retrofit standards for municipally-funded affordable housing. Over the past seven years, Suzanne served as chief of staff and then chief operating officer for Pecan Street, during which time Forbes named her one of five women ‘Using Technology to Blow Up Social Change.’ An urban planner with a masters degree in community and regional planning from the University of Texas at Austin, Suzanne has worked in Africa, China, India and the USA on community-based sustainable development.