Suzanne Stassevitch

Born in New York City and raised in St. Louis, Suzanne moved to San Francisco in 1976 to pursue her lifelong passion for the performing arts after earning a B.A. in Theater Arts at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and graduate work at the University of Oregon and SFSU (M.A. 1978).

As a member of IATSE, Theatrical Wardrobe Union Local 784, Suzanne built a career in the Costume and Wardrobe Departments in Bay Area Broadway Theatres, Ballet Companies, and San Francisco Opera. As a member of a Local 784 her activities included working as a Union Steward, contract negotiations, Health and Welfare Administrator Local 784 1982-1992, developing an apprentice program and sitting on the Apprentice Board, 1985-1993. Suzanne worked for 15 years at San Francisco Opera as a Wardrobe Department Head and a traveling Costume Supervisor. During this time she was an active volunteer at her son’s school and had the privilege of working as a volunteer at the Textile Conservation Labs at the Fine Arts Museum San Francisco.

In 2001 Suzanne decided to redirect her activities toward community interests and to study and develop her own work in textiles arts.

Community interests have included training as an Adult Literacy tutor in 2000 and working with for Project Read, an Adult Literacy Project in San Francisco, following her mother’s path into the LWV and taking a lead in the LWVSF Speaker’s Bureau, represent the League on the City Ballot Simplification Committee and working on small community theatrical events. As vice president of voter service programs for LWVSF since 2004, Suzanne and her team expanded content and programs available on the League’s Web site, increased the distribution of Pro Con materials city-wide in three languages, and coordinated a vote-by-mail promotion in San Francisco.