Deloitte Executive Joins Posse’s National Board
Susan Goldsmith, a Principal at Deloitte, brings decades of experience spanning the public and private sectors to her newest role on The Posse Foundation’s National Board of Directors. Elected earlier this year, Susan previously served four years on the Posse Los Angeles Advisory Board, which she now chairs. Her leadership reflects a lifelong dedication to education, culture, inclusion, and organizational transformation.
The youngest of five children raised in Queens, New York, Susan grew up in a home deeply rooted in ethics-driven activism. Though neither of her parents attended college—her father began working in the garment industry at age 10, and her mother married at 16—they instilled in her a powerful belief in the importance of education and standing up for what is right.
“My mother marched in Washington in protest and in solidarity,” Susan recalls. “She taught me that you stand up for what you believe is right.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Albany, Susan entered a Doctoral program in social psychology and education at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her coursework, including a concentration in organizational behavior at Wharton, before taking what she thought would be a one-year sabbatical in California.
“That sabbatical led me to San Francisco and then Los Angeles, where I began waiting tables on Melrose Avenue and sleeping on my sister’s couch.”
A serendipitous hire as a project coordinator with the Los Angeles County Department Health Services marked the start of her consulting career. That role led to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and eventually to Deloitte, where she joined in 2013.
For more than a decade at Deloitte, Susan has advised Fortune 100 companies—particularly in the Media and Entertainment sectors—on organizational change, global branding, and digital transformation. Her training in social psychology gives her a distinct, human-centered perspective.
“Whatever you consider to be your liability is actually your greatest asset,” she says. “It’s your job to figure out how to use it that way.”
Most recently, Susan expanded her leadership as U.S. Sustainability Leader in Deloitte’s Growth and Purpose Office, guiding the firm’s climate strategy while aligning it with her long-held commitment to social impact.
Under her leadership, the Posse Los Angeles Advisory Board has deepened local partnerships and elevated support for Scholars navigating higher education and public policy careers.
“I believe Posse Scholars not only benefit from rigorous academics,” Susan says, “but also from that powerful sense of belonging—a sense I myself longed for in college.”
As a National Board member, she plans to draw on her East Coast roots and three decades of experience in scholarship and policy—including early research in Philadelphia’s public schools—to help drive Posse’s mission of expanding college access and leadership opportunities for underrepresented youth.
“I love that being part of Posse feels like sitting at the cool kids’ table,” she says, “where you’re challenged to be a better version of yourself.”
