​Betsey Suchanic

Betsey Suchanic

Degree: 2019, MPA

Job Title: Environmental Training Specialist, Grow America 

Betsey Suchanic (MPA '19) is an Environmental Training Specialist at Grow America, where she designs and provides training to community and economic development finance professionals working across the United States. Grow America is a national organization and small business lender that partners with local and state governments, community organizations, and economic development agencies to create and implement strategies that drive impact. In her role, Betsey focuses on developing training related to environmental topics, including EPA programs focused on brownfield redevelopment and designing and delivering programs focused on economic and community development finance more broadly.

Before her work at Grow America, Betsey was an inclusive economic development advisor at New Growth Innovation Network, where she conducted research, developed insights, and engaged economic development and community development practitioners across the United States. New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN) is a nonprofit organization focused on closing structural opportunity gaps to ensure that economically disenfranchised people of color, women, and neglected geographies are a core part of regional economic growth and prosperity. While at NGIN, she worked across company projects, including the Inclusive Recovery Initiative and the Small and Mid-size City Hub. The Inclusive Recovery Initiative engages regional economic development organizations to embed inclusive economic recovery strategies into their regional plans. The Small and Mid-size City Hub is a national community of small and mid-size cities, with populations ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 residents, that brings together best practices for inclusive and equitable growth and community wealth building.

While studying at the University of Delaware (UD), Betsey worked as a Public Administration Fellow with the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), contributing to the Delaware Complete Communities Toolbox. This opportunity gave her an up-close look at local governments, community development, and supporting community well-being. This experience and her graduate summer internship for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Philadelphia office led her to explore how public spaces can lead to economic benefit and community well-being.

Betsey's time at UD gave her the skills and experiences to support public libraries. Through her work on the Delaware Complete Communities Toolbox, she built technical skills in GIS mapping, community outreach, and program evaluation. Betsey also engaged with local government leaders across Delaware, giving her a deeper understanding of local governments' challenges and opportunities.

In the future, Betsey hopes to continue supporting local communities in taking steps toward economic justice and building community wealth. This includes diving deep into access to entrepreneurship, workforce development, homeownership, and the systemic barriers that key populations face in these avenues to wealth building.

Betsey lives in Washington, DC, where she is involved locally in her Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood and continues to work as an artist in graphic design and photography.