Suzanne Bracken - Voice-President, Specialization Unlimited
Suzanne is a multi-talented individual with a broad background in Not For Profit (NFP) leadership, business administration and support, and multidisciplinary performance. She brings a diverse set of skills to her role as Vice President of Specialization Unlimited. She has taken her business world experience as an Administrative Assistant in the Public Relations and Financial Services industries and utilized that knowledge as a leader in both professional and creative NFP organizations.
Suzanne was a founding member of the Edelman Public Relations (now Edelman) corporate chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP, a 501c6 organization) and served as Vice President and President during her tenure at Edelman. After leaving Edelman, she joined the Chicago Lake Shore Chapter (CLSC) of the IAAP. She again served as Vice President and two-term President of the CLSC Chapter, the oldest chapter of IAAP in Illinois, until an organizational change disbanded the individual chapters of the IAAP.
Suzanne went on to serve as a board member of Ludicrous Theatre - Chicago, a performance focused not for profit arts organization. She assisted in creating and filing the 501c3 application for Ludicrous, and worked in multiple capacities for the company. She began her involvement with Ludicrous as an actor in the leading role of Phaedra in the original production of Hippolytus, She continued performing with the company while taking on numerous other roles behind the scenes, including Costume Designer, Makeup and Hair Design, PR/Media Liaison, Company Photographer, Fundraising Chair, and in.2014 she was named Managing Director for the company.. Like many other small theater companies, Ludicrous went defunct in 2020.
In November of 2023, Suzanne founded The Courtesan & The Cabin Boy LLC (CCB LLC). The mission of CCB LLC is to explore fun through music and fire, but the concept to do singing fire shows began in 2017 when she was gifted a pair of fire fans. After receiving fire safety training from the Full Moon Jam Foundation (FMJ), she began performing as part of their Summer series of events in conjunction with the City of Chicago's Nights Out in the Parks program. In 2019 she was cast in The Moonlight Parade, a fire spectacle staged with the cooperation of the Chicago Departmm\ent of Cultural Affairs and performed in Millenium Park, in front of "The Bean" in September of that year. Suzanne currently serves as an Event Organizer for the FMJ and is actively involved in their inaugural Full Moon Jam Equinox Flow Fest to be held in September of 2024.
Suzanne earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater Performance from Millikin University, and earned her Certified Administrative Professional CAP) rating with a specialty in Organizational Management (OM) from the International Association of Administrative Professionals.