UC Berkeley
Director of Global EngagementSusan Giesecke

Susan Giesecke is Director of Global Engagement for the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, part of the College of Engineering at The University of California Berkeley. She is responsible for building global partnerships with international universities and organizations interested in engaging with the Center to build innovation and entrepreneurship through programs, student and faculty exchange. Susan came to SCET from Berkeley’s campus-wide Global Engagement Office (GEO) where she was the Director of international Protocol. At GEO, she was responsible for arranging the campus visits of hundreds of high level international governmental and academic delegations. Prior to her engagement at UC Berkeley, Susan was a business faculty member and associate to the President of Anatolia College and the American College of Thessaloniki in Thessaloniki, Greece. She taught in the undergraduate business program and worked with both incoming American study abroad students and Greek students interested in pursuing college studies in the USA. Susan’s prior experience includes international relocation with Global Orientations in Indianapolis and as a founding staff member of Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, where she was responsible for student services at a culturally diverse campus with students from some 40 countries. She was a manager with Corporate Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University and the Executive Director of the Frist Center at Belmont University, both in Nashville, TN. Early in her career, Susan directed an international internship program at UC Irvine and was also a part of the marketing department of Disneyland. Susan has a bachelor’s degree in international marketing and communication and a masters degree in Organizational and Intercultural Communication both graduating Summa Cum Laude. Susan has a passion for engaging with people from throughout the world and bringing them together for mutually beneficial purposes. She enjoys international travel and the intercultural interactions/friendships that form through travel. In her free time, Susan enjoys running, cycling, hiking, and cross country skiing.