Sue Ballard is a proud wife and team partner (14 years and counting!) to Troy and mom to a super fun and energetic toddler, Ben. A proud native of upstate, New York, so loves all outdoor activities and can be found on her favorite river (the St. Lawrence River) in the summer months. Sue values CliftonStrengths (Top 5: Consistency, Discipline, Relator, Activator, and Empathy) and would rather be wearing flipflops and athleisure wear than heels and a dress. Beyond these fun facts and insights into who she is as a person, Sue has a pleasure of serving as the Associate Vice President, Employee Engagement and Advancement Operations with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In this role, she oversees all efforts focused on enhancing employee engagement and operations, including oversight of the Advancement Services, Strategy, and Infrastructure and Prospect Research and Management teams. Her world also includes oversight for creating, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive employee engagement program for the division. With “activator” as one of her top five strengths, Sue enjoys the opportunity to build programs, while seeing firsthand the productivity that results from employee engagement initiatives.
 
Prior to joining the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute team, Sue was with Syracuse University for nearly 8 years. During which time, Sue served as vice president of alumni engagement for nearly seven years as she worked with a fabulous team to build a premier alumni engagement program to meet and exceed the goals of the ongoing Forever Orange Campaign. Most recently, Sue served as the associate vice president, employee engagement in the Division of Advancement and External Affairs. Before joining the Syracuse University team, Sue served as the director, stewardship & special events for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, as well as the first-ever major gifts officer for the College of Mount St. Joseph. She spent her early career with Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in increasingly prominent positions in events, alumni engagement, and development. Her tenure with BGSU included a variety of alumni and volunteer engagement activities. 

Sue believes in the power of employee engagement, CliftonStrengths assessments, vulnerability, and humor in the workplace. Many moons ago, she earned a B.A. in political science from Hartwick College and then her M.A. in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University.