By day, Suzanne Johnson is the senior vice president of branch banking for Park Bank, a community bank with nine locations throughout the Madison area. In addition to that, since May of this year, she has also been the chair of the board of directors at Centro, Dane County’s largest organization working to improve the quality of life for Latinos and others living in Dane County by empowering youth, strengthening families, and engaging the community.
“I’m looking forward to finding ways and being very relentless on how we can support Centro and its mission. I think we have an incredible board, as well. I think we work very well together,” Johnson tells Madison365. “But how do we become the board where it’s not just what we’re giving to the board, but it’s also how we are learning, too, and how we are developing ourselves and challenging ourselves?
“I look forward to our board meetings. I would say I love the strength that I see. I think a lot is going on in our nation right now, making it very uncertain and scary,” she adds. “What Centro means to the community is demonstrating strength and focusing on knowing your resources and how to navigate them. I think that’s very important too.”
Johnson has been leading Centro’s board, which currently has nine members, since she was elected by her peers in May. As part of her leadership, she works very closely with Dr. Karen Menéndez Coller, the longtime executive director of Centro.
“Suzanne is the perfect chair for our board at this time. She is endlessly supportive of me and a fierce advocate for the importance of Centro,” Menéndez Coller tells Madison365. “She is authentic, so incredibly visionary, and deeply believes in the collective power of our board of directors. I learn so much from her. She is a leader with humility and hope, a true optimist. I am so grateful to know and work with her. It feels like we needed her … I needed her, as she stepped in.”
director of development (Photo: Centro Hispano)
Johnson first became a Centro board member in 2021 while working at Park Bank, which has always had a great relationship with Centro and a very nice representation at big Centro events, like Centro’s annual Gala (the latest one took place this past Saturday). Johnson became well acquainted with Centro and when she first joined the Centro board, she was on the organization’s Becas scholarship committee — what is now called the Lucía Núñez Becas Program. “That was a way to learn more about just the impact from a scholarship perspective, and attending the Beca’s launching event,” Johnson says. “When I came over to Park Bank, of course, we have always had a great relationship with Centro. I worked with [longtime Centro board member] Sujhey [Beisser], who was a mentor of mine at Park Bank. I was fortunate enough to be able to work with the [Centro] Caminos finance programs. That is where I started my formal work with Centro.
“I’ve always admired Karen [Menéndez Coller] from afar, even before I got to Park Bank. I just think she’s an incredible human being. It was around that time that this involvement sparked my transition into Centro,” she adds. “But as I became more involved in Centro and I reflected, I recalled how Juventud [Centro’s middle school program for Latino youth and their families in the MMSD) was always a part of Centro, and I had friends when I was in middle school [at O’Keeffe] where I would go with them to Juventud sometimes… So it has been a full circle for me.”
Johnson adds that she is fortunate that Park Bank allows her plenty of time to be at Centro and to do things that are impactful in the greater community.
“I genuinely have a passion for supporting people. Centro has allowed me to be part of what they have built and created, and I just try to find ways to support in any way that I can,” she says.
“At heart, I’m a people person, so I have a deep care and compassion and focus on people, and Centro, especially Karen, is very much about trust and leading from the heart,” Johnson adds. “I joined Becas [scholarship committee], and then I joined the membership committee, and any opportunity that I can have to be a part of Centro’s mission or values, I’m like, ‘Sign me up!”
(Photo courtesy of Centro)
It has been rare for Centro, and many other Latino agencies and organizations, for that matter, to have many African American board members. Very rare for them to be the chair. How does that make Johnson feel?
“It feels natural,’ Johnson responds, smiling. “Of course, I’ve thought about that, and I challenge myself and others to step outside of who we are and learn more about other communities and challenges and being selfless in their work, and being uncomfortable sometimes, too. I don’t know everything, but it allows me to learn and deepen my understanding of what another community is going through. In many ways, it can be similar …. in many ways, very different.”
This past Saturday, Centro Hispano held its 42nd annual awards ceremony and gala titled “La Magia del Pueblo” at its new home on Madison’s South Side at 2403 Cypress Way. After a successful capital campaign, Centro opened the two-story, 25,000-square-foot building with a large indoor/outdoor plaza last year. It has been a huge deal for the growth and evolution of Centro.
“I joined the board when they started the campaign, if I’m not mistaken, during that time. So what it took to build that building was a lot of community partnerships, a lot of outreach, a lot of strategy leadership on Karen’s part,” Johnson says.
Moving from the much older building two blocks away (the old Centro building has since been demolished), the new building enables Centro to do so much more as far as its programming, its training, its outreach and its events.
“The response from the staff and the community to the new building has been incredible. I would say, even for myself, walking in it feels so welcoming,” Johnson says. “The building has allowed for way more space that is essential to support the growing Latinx community as well. The way that they are using the space has been amazing, too, as far as expanding programs and what they’re working on, and they have the capacity to do so much more. Just the ability to host a gala here is pretty amazing.
“I think Centro is really able to take its space and make it truly its home. All of these great Centro events that were held externally can be held at our home. I think for anyone walking through their doors, the feeling is so welcoming. There’s music, there’s artwork, there’s hugs. There’s so much light in the building. I love being there. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
(Photo by David Dahmer)
The new building gives Centro the opportunity to continue to grow its many programs for youth, for families, for the workforce, for the overall community, and more. Johnson is looking forward to leading Centro’s board in the near future and beyond.
“I’m looking forward to how we also lead by example as a board, and how we support Centro and its mission. I am looking forward to being a part of this incredible Centro history of more than 40 years here in Madison,” Johnson says. “I think Karen and her leadership are historic … the way that she touches hearts. She does everything with passion and intention and strategy. And so I’m very fortunate to be a part of seeing that and contributing in any way that I can, and very excited about her team and their growth, and the expansion to support more of the Latinx community, too.
“What I really love about being involved with Centro is that we challenge ourselves to lead with our heart and passion,” Johnson adds. “I love the Centro team. I love the space. I love the experiences and the connections that I’ve been able to formulate through volunteering.”
