Suzann has always had a heart for service. Suzann's heart for service, combined with life-altering experiences during COVID—both personally and professionally, provided Suzann with unique insight, which led her to identify a need in the community.
Death is not something most people like to talk about. Discussing death is often uncomfortable, awkward, and even taboo, but it's inevitable. Suzann experienced a great deal of death during COVID—from her father passing (in 2020 before a vaccine was released) to several family members to her experience with death as the Director of Human Resources for Middleby Corporation (an international company headquartered in Elgin specializing in innovative cooking equipment for the commercial, residential, and industrial foodservice markets).
During COVID, we all heard plenty of heart-wrenching tails of death from people in professions you would typically associate with being required to deal with death—those in the medical profession, first responders, funeral homes, etc. COVID also took a toll on many people we would not think of, such as Human Resources (HR) professionals—like Suzann.
If someone was employed or had other ties to a former employer, at some point, someone will need to reach out to that company for paperwork, and that someone is usually an HR professional. How many HR professionals are trained to deal with mass deaths? Experiences like these change a person profoundly. Suzann is a kind and caring person; she dealt with the circumstances as best she could, but through it all, she realized that end of life could be better for everyone, but that takes planning and a deeper level of understanding than simply filing paperwork with an attorney (quite frankly, not everyone can afford an attorney).
Suzann eventually left a high-paying corporate role to begin a new journey as a death doula in Elgin. Suzann's new business is called Finishing Well and has a group page on Facebook Death Doula Elgin - Finishing Well. As a certified death doula practitioner, Suzann's mission is to provide compassionate support and guidance to individuals and their families during the end-of-life journey.
From ensuring the correct documents are in place to helping alleviate some of the burden of care when someone close is in hospice, Suzann's business model helps ensure the end-of-life journey is as peaceful as possible. As Suzann puts it, death is a sacred event that should be treated as such.
In addition to her professional background in HR, Suzann is an artist and humanitarian. Everything about Suzann makes her well-suited for her new role, which seems to be her life's calling.
Suzann attended school in Milwaukee and studied art. Soon after college, she moved to Elgin, where she has resided for 32 years. In 2010, she obtained a degree in Human Services from Judson University (Elgin), beginning her journey into the HR profession.
Suzann did not land her high-level position at Middleby immediately. She started as a temp and worked her way up to the highest level a woman minority person has achieved at Middleby. Her leadership and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the international headquarters is one of her remarkable career achievements.
During the summer of 2020, there was unrest due to the George Floyd incident. The board directed Suzann to take the initiative to bring DEI to the forefront of Middleby. Suzann, a lifelong learner, found an online DEI program at the University of South Florida (USF) and got certified. She presented her knowledge to the HR Workforce Development group at the Elgin Chamber of Commerce. She brought this serious matter and her expertise to the 50+ HR managers and leadership. The strategy implemented included rethinking hiring practices, implementing an Employee Resource Group (ERG), and focusing on employee engagement through communication and training throughout the company. The program started to gain traction with Middleby’s international sites.
Suzann's main goal was to highlight how candidates were viewed during the hiring process. Instead of looking at candidates in terms of how they can fit into our organization, this strategy shifted to a "what can they add to our organization" point of view. As a minority woman in leadership, Suzann understood the "fit in" mentality. This mindset shift allows all workers to bring their best selves to work.
Considering all of Suzann’s time and achievements at Middleby, she could have stayed at Middleby and retired very comfortably. People like Suzann are not motivated by money. She desires to make a real impact in her community. Suzann does not necessarily seek out community service. She follows her heart, and when opportunities present themselves, she answers the call.
Suzann is a longtime member of West Ridge Community Church in Elgin. She is a servant leader and created a prayer team. People in need of spiritual guidance call upon Suzann and her team to pray for them. Once Suzann's gift was discovered, church members started calling on her to visit loved ones in the hospital, minister to families, and speak at funerals. All of this occurred well before she was called to her journey as a death doula.
In addition to the impact she's making with families in Elgin through her church, she's made an immeasurable impact through her philanthropic work at Middleby.
Being a longtime and caring Elgin resident, Suzann is keenly aware of the nonprofit community in Elgin. I met Suzann as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin (where I was formerly employed about ten years ago). Knowing the significant number of nonprofit organizations in Elgin, the level of need in our community, and the wealth of her employer, she convinced them to begin a philanthropic platform, now known as Middleby Cares—there’s a good chance if you were ever involved with a nonprofit organization in Elgin that you've encountered Middleby Cares.
Suzann was not only the catalyst behind Middleby's philanthropic platform but also the catalyst behind getting their employees involved in community service. She reached everyone, even convincing high-level executives to get involved. She formed a group of 24 corporate employees, including upper-level executives, to volunteer at the Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB).
Their corporate community service did not stop with NIFB. They loved the program so much that they willingly continued their service with Habitat for Humanity—their group even built homes in Elgin. Middleby Cares continued their service with Feeding America and Workforce Development at the Elgin Area Chamber. Through the Workforce Development program, Suzann connected other corporations to this much-needed program in Elgin. In 2024, Middleby won an award for their philanthropic work, all thanks to Suzann's heart and vision, allowing Suzann to leave behind an indelible legacy that continues to build and grow. Once Suzann has a vision, she's unstoppable.
Although Suzann made a significant impact at Middleby and was set on course for a comfortable life, she couldn't help but continue to be pulled away by all that impacted her during COVID. When your heart pulls you in a direction, your mind will catch up, and the universe will eventually intervene. Suzann began hearing about death doulas, something she had no familiarity with before. The more she learned, the more she knew this was her path. Suzann followed the path and her love of being a life-long learner; she became a certified non-medical practitioner and recently launched her business in Elgin.
You can find Suzann at Dream Hall in downtown Elgin on the third Thursday of each month from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Dream Hall graciously allows Suzann to provide her service to the community at no charge. Anyone is welcome to drop in at her Death Cafe, which provides a group setting where people can freely come together to talk about death, or talk about someone they know who has died, going through death, or wanting death. She hosts a table set with light sweet treats and her warm and inviting personality.
As a death doula, Suzann is a non-medical practitioner who educates people on death, caregiving, and advanced care directives and wills. Have you ever heard of a POLST (Practitioner Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment)? I had not before this interview, but it's a form that can make an end-of-life journey easier for caregivers, and you do not need an attorney to file this form. Who knew? I didn't.
Suzann is seeking to reduce the fear of dying through education. Before COVID, the number one fear was public speaking. Post-COVID, the number one fear is death. In addition to her drop-in sessions at Dream Hall, she is also providing free classes at Gail Borden Public Library. She served on the board of the Boys & Girls of Elgin and is now a board member for the Family Service Association of Elgin. Her work in the nonprofit community gave her insight into the importance of accessibility, so she's striving to make herself and her services as accessible as possible.
Ultimately, Suzann wants to create an all-encompassing care model to alleviate the burden on caregivers and provide as much comfort as possible to the person making their transition. Comfort comes with planning and education. Aging and terminal illnesses aside, any one of us could find ourselves facing death at any moment. Life is challenging, so why not make one's ending as peaceful as possible?
Beyond her already impactful service to the community, since becoming a death doula, Suzann is now involved with Elgin TRIAD and working on adding programs at a local non-profit memory care retirement facility. TRIAD is a partnership that involves Elgin Township, community seniors, law enforcement (Sheri/police), and support/protective services, who agree to work together to protect the interests of the seniors in our community.
Being the warm, bright, intelligent, and unstoppable force she is, Suzann has already impacted countless people through her years of volunteer work in the Elgin community. Now, with her new business model, she’s making a meaningful direct impact on people. Her latest business journey is only the beginning. Suzann's direct impact will continue, but she's also planning to train others to do what she is doing so her impact will multiply and touch the lives of everyone in Elgin and far, far beyond.
I consider myself blessed to know Suzann, and I think innumerable others can benefit from knowing her, which is why I am nominating her for this well-deserved award. If you are familiar with NPR's "Unsung Hero," Suzann is an unsung hero who deserves to have her praise sung far and wide.
- Kari Christensen (writer)
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