Planning for retirement
After 34 years, Suzanne Durham
plans for life after the YWCA, and
the YWCA plans for life after her.
STORY BY BOB BLALOCK
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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE YWCA
S
SUZANNE DURHAM IS A PLANNER. In
the nonprofit world in which she has
served for decades, there's really no
other choice. Planning ways to raise
money. Planning new programs.
Planning how to maximize the impact
of those dollars and programs. And
lately, planning on who will take her
place.
Durham, the chief executive officer
of the YWCA Central Alabama in
Birmingham for 34 years, is retiring at
the end of this year. Yolanda Sullivan,
immediate past president of the YWCA
board of directors, will assume the role
of interim CEO in January, board
President Kathryn Harbert announced
in September.
Ask Durham about her plans for
retirement and she responds: "I'm a
planner. e plan is there is no plan."
Durham says she has a stack of
books she wants to read and some projects around the house to keep her busy.
She mentions building a greenhouse on
the six acres of land where she lives.
"I like to grow plants and people. I
like to fix plants, and fix some of
society's issues," Durham says.
She and the YWCA have worked to
fix some of society's toughest issues.
e YWCA's mission statement says it
is "dedicated to eliminating racism,
