Apr 19, 2010
Artist Development
The San Francisco Film Society announces the appointment of Susan J. Martin as director of development. She joins the longtime Film Society development team of Suzanne McCloskey, director of corporate sponsorship, and Kim Bender, director of foundations and major gifts, as the organization moves into a new phase of expansion of its programming and services.
“We’re excited to welcome Sue as leader of the SFFS development team,” said Graham Leggat, SFFS executive director. “Her entrepreneurial spirit, business savvy and problem-solving skills are just what we need to fortify our development team as we enter our next stage of growth.”
Sue Martin has more than 20 years experience in nonprofit development and management. During her career she has worked both as professional staff and as a consultant including a long association with the San Francisco-based consulting firm Fitzgerald & Graves.
“As a longtime appreciator of arts in the Bay Area, I’ve observed the growth and many recent accomplishments of the Film Society,” said Martin. “This is an exciting moment in the organization’s evolution, and I’m thrilled to now be a part of the team and work to achieve the Film Society’s new goals.”
Most recently Martin served as interim director of development for the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Prior to that she was the campaign director for Women Moving Millions, a $150 million campaign to raise gifts of $1 million and more for women’s funds throughout the country. She was recruited for this position after a two-year hiatus in Hawaii where she worked with various nonprofits and served as interim vice president of the Honolulu Symphony.
Before her move to Hawaii, Martin was the director of development and campaign director for the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at UC Berkeley. She led their efforts to prepare for a major campaign to build and endow a new art museum. Prior to this she was an associate at Fitzgerald & Graves, serving clients both in the Bay Area and across the country including the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Honolulu Symphony.
Prior to becoming a consultant, she served as director of development at Larkin Street Youth Center, a nationally recognized organization serving homeless and runaway kids, executive director of development at the San Francisco Zoo and associate director of the New Museum Campaign at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she managed a major campaign to raise $95 million to build and endow a new home for the museum.
Earlier in her career Martin was director of development at the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, where she directed all fundraising activities and also served as a national and international spokesperson for the Quilt and its message of love and remembrance.
Martin has been an active volunteer throughout her career, committing her time to various AIDS organizations in the Bay Area, the San Francisco SPCA and the San Francisco Zen Center, where she also served on its board of directors. In Hawaii she worked with Hospice Hawaii in Honolulu and Art After Dark, a group of young supporters of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Martin has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. In April 2008 she was awarded the title of Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers.