Suzanne Fuller Burks named executive director of Phyllis Wheatley Community Center

Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (PWCC) has announced the selection of Suzanne Fuller Burks as its new executive director.  She will be tasked with establishing a clear vision for the organization as it ventures toward its 100^th Anniversary in 2024; to reimagine PWCC in the wake of COVID-19 and establish a path to the “next normal,” among other measures.

“The PWCC Board is very pleased to have found someone with her skill set and a love of this agency and this community. COVID-19 and the “Zoom” atmosphere it has heralded will delay and complicate the household move, but Suzanne has already begun to weigh in on PWCC activities and plans,” stated PWCC Board Chair Fred Easter.

“I am beyond excited and humbled to be appointed the new PWCC executive director and coming back home,” said Burks.  “PWCC always held a special place in my heart while I worked at the General Mills Foundation and served as the PWCC Board Chair in the ‘90s. 

“I realize these are unprecedented times, given the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am certain that PWCC will provide the necessary services to the children, youth, and families as it has in the past with excellence” stated Suzanne Fuller Burks.  She also stated, “My husband, Fred and I are also grateful and pleased that we will be with our children and family who live in the Twin Cities.”

Burks began her career with General Mills, Inc. (GMI). Over a 20-year period, she worked her way up from a summer intern through a variety of positions of increasing responsibility throughout the company. In her last two GMI positions, she served as director and Senior Program Officer of the General Mills Foundation and as executive director of Ethnic Community Relations. Burks joined the PWCC Board as a GMI Executive and chaired the Board in the ‘90s.

She has a demonstrated professional track record as an integrative leader, a business developer, an innovative-thinker and philanthropic strategist, a market optimizer, and a relationship-builder. Burks currently lives in Atlanta, GA; so in a real sense, she will be returning to her adopted home. 

Burks is married to Fred E. Burks and they have a combined family of five adult children, two of which live in the Twin Cities.  Suzanne will be starting full-time in her new position on June 1, 2020, and will be relocating to Minneapolis by October of this year.

Phyllis Wheatley Community Center provides community-based holistic and comprehensive support and services. The organization is located at 1301 N 10th Ave, Minneapolis. For more info, visit www.phylliswheatley.org.