Susan Graf jump-started her career in Boulder in 1989 when she was hired as VP of Human Resources by Leanin’ Tree, one of Boulder’s earliest entrepreneurial success stories. During this time, Susan served as Board Chair of both the Boulder Chamber of Commerce and the Boulder Area Human Resource Association.
In 2004 Susan became the first female President and CEO of the Boulder Chamber. During her 8 years at the helm, she grew Chamber membership by 50%, and oversaw the Boulder Economic Council, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Small Business Development Center. She helped lead the formation of new industry associations such as Naturally Boulder, Innovation Center of the Rockies, and Active Boulder for the Outdoor Industry. She also initiated the creation of CO-LABS, a state-wide coalition of federally funded labs.
Since leaving the Chamber Graf has held served as VP of Finance and Administration for Bhakti Chai and Senior Vice President of New Resource Bank, a B Corp bank serving sustainable businesses and nonprofits. She was recruited by Alpine Bank to connect their new Boulder branch to the Boulder business community and her work became especially critical in serving businesses desperate for help during the COVID pandemic.
In addition to her professional endeavors, Susan has been an active member of the Boulder County community. After partnering with the City of Boulder to launch Naturally Boulder she served on its Board for six years. Graf served on the Boulder Community Health Board of Directors for nine years and was Chair of the Planning Committee when BCH made its plans to relocate to the new Foothills Hospital campus. And she has served the past six years on the Board of the Colorado Enterprise Fund, an award-winning Community Development Financial Institutions in Colorado, where she is past Chair of the Board. Perhaps her favorite community contribution was establishing local guardianship of the Flagstaff Star and converting it to wind power.