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Susan M. Heathfield

Expertise: Human Resources, Management, Value-Based Workplaces
Title: Management and Organization Development Consultant, Co-Owner - TechSmith Corporation
Education: University of Michigan, Michigan State University
Location: Williamston, Michigan

Highlights

  • Management and organization development consultant who specializes in human resources issues and values-based management to create forward-thinking workplaces that foster successful careers for employees.
  • Creates forward-thinking workplaces and better humans who build their foundations on their core values. 
  • Co-owner of TechSmith Corporation, a software development company with 285 employees
  • Quoted as an expert on workplace issues in publications including ​The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Susan has been the Human Resources and people management expert for The Balance (and prior to that, About.com) from 2000-2021.

Experience

Susan is a writer for The Balance Careers covering human resources and people management. Since 1987, she has managed her own consulting company, and has consulted with more than 100 clients, and facilitated more than 2,000 training and planning sessions. Susan has worked as an HR director, a training manager, an organization development consultant, and a community college extension head.

Susan is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She contributes to professional publications including a book chapter for the Association for Talent Development and an article in The Journal for Quality and Participation. Her articles are recommended as a resource by many colleges and universities, including the ILR School Catherwood Library at Cornell University.

Susan is regularly featured in business podcasts and on talk radio including WJR (Mitch Albom Show), WBIX Business in Boston, National Public Radio (NPR), Money and You at wsRadio, San Diego, BNET, Radio Sandy Springs, Atlanta, and other regional shows.

Susan has been quoted in more than 250 print and online publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Post, FT.com, Boston.com, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Sfgate.com, Globeandmail.com, Forbes, StarTribune.com, US News & World Report, Pittsburghlive.com, Ohioonline.com, Canadianbusiness.com, Techrepublic.com, Mediabistro.com, Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, Diversity Executive, the Society for Human Resource Management HR Magazine, Human Resource Executive, Yahoo Careers and Education, and in Associated Press (AP) articles.

Media and Reader Inquiries: Please contact Susan at susanmheathfield@gmail.com or visit her website for more information. You can also find her on Facebook and on LinkedIn.

Education

Susan has a bachelor's degree in English and interdisciplinary social studies and education; and a master's degree in Organizational Counseling from the University of Michigan. She has completed several years (90+ credits) of coursework in management, labor and industrial relations, human resources, and higher adult and lifelong education at Michigan State University.

About The Balance

The Balance, a Dotdash Meredith brand, makes money easy to understand. We give people tools they need to not only make smart financial decisions but also prepare for the experiences they will have along the way. Our team of expert writers and editors have extensive qualifications in the topics they cover, and many of them have MBAs, PhDs, CFPs, and other advanced degrees and professional certifications. We require our writers to use primary sources in their articles, which are also approved by our Financial Review Board and fact-checked. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

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