Susan Misra

Education: BS: Lewis and Clark College, in Psychology, MPP: Harvard University, Kennedy School
Service Expertise: capacity building, organizational assessment, strategic planning, business planning, and grants management
TCC Practice Areas: Philanthropy, Nonprofit, and International

Presentations & Speeches:

• Presenter, "Strategic Planning: A 'How-to' Guide," Interpride
• Presented on organizational lifecycles at Stonewall Community Foundation
• 17th Annual Creating Change Conference, building an immigrant rights movement
• "Long-term capacity-building initiatives," South Florida Donors forum
• "Four Core Capacities Across the Organization Lifecycle," Goldman Sachs Capacity Academy

Susan Misra, a Senior Consultant, brings experience in leadership and capacity building, organizational assessments, and project management to TCC Group. Before joining the firm, Misra worked as the Coordinator for the Youth Public Education Campaign, a joint initiative of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and Rock the Vote. She led a coalition of arts, advocacy, and educational organizations, directed a council of youth representatives, and managed a media campaign to stop discrimination throughout LA high schools. Misra has also worked as an independent diversity trainer and facilitator with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations.

Over the last decade, Misra has conducted research in seven cities and three countries. For instance, she developed an outcome-based performance evaluation for a $2.5 million, 3-year ABC Fund for community economic development, which was funded by a collaboration of seven corporate and community foundations. Misra has also served as the Co-Director for Policy Research at AWARE in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. At AWARE, her leadership prompted an emergency loan fund for farmers and restructured the Women's Division to focus on entrepreneurship and health programs.

More recently at TCC Group, she has provided leadership in the technical assistance given to grantees of the Pfizer Foundation's Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative, a $3 million, 3-year grantmaking program. Misra helped to design and implement the organizational assessment tool and worked with grantees to identify capacity-building priorities. She currently manages five capacity-building providers as they address their grantees' needs.

Misra also manages The Irvine Foundation's Investing in Arts Leadership as well as the Ford Foundation, James S. and John L. Knight Foundation, and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation's Challenge Fund for Journalism II. Both are multi-year capacity-building initiatives for arts and culture organizations and journalism organizations, respectively. For these projects, Misra provides overall administrative oversight, conducts organizational self-assessments, and directly coaches grantees regarding development of their organizational and fundraising capacities.

Outside the office, Misra continues to be actively involved in the community and the arts. Misra is a co-founder of the Peace and Diversity Academy, a public high school in the Bronx, and serves on the board of Border Crossers, a program that engages elementary school students in social action and art to stop racism. Misra also serves on the steering committee of the Queer Immigrant Rights Project, which provides social and cultural spaces for LGBT immigrants to support each other, address racism, xenophobia, and homophobia, and contribute to political solutions. In the past, Misra has contributed her artistic and consulting skills to grassroots groups on immigration, human rights, environmental, economic, and labor issues, including Come Un-Paused of Common Cause, Core Concepts, and the Boston Global Action Network, among others.

Misra received a Master's in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she gained advanced skills in strategic management, conflict resolution, political advocacy, policy research and analysis, organizing and coalition building, leadership, and economic development. At Harvard University, Misra was also awarded the Kennedy School Social Service Award as well as the post-graduate Sheldon Fellowship to study bridging social capital and community conflict resolution. Misra holds a B.S. in Psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

< back to staff