Suzanne McKechnie Klahr is an American social entrepreneur and educator.[1]
She has served as a lecturer at Stanford Law School and Harvard Law School.[2] She is currently a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.[3] She is the recipient of CBS Jefferson Award on television, radio, and print.[4] She was elected as lifetime member of Ashoka in 2006.[5]
She is the founder of BUILD, a nonprofit organization, that works for underprivileged high-school students.[6]
Biography
editKlahr was born in London, England and raised in New York City and is a dual citizen of the United States and Great Britain[4], she earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University[7] and later attended Stanford Law School[8], where she graduated with a Juris Doctor (JD) and was a member of the Stanford Law Review.[9]
Her early interest in social entrepreneurship was influenced by her family, particularly her mother, who taught in Harlem.[10] Her grandmother, who earned a degree in gerontology in her 60s and founded a nonprofit, also played a role in shaping Klahr’s work.[11] Growing up in Manhattan, Klahr started small businesses, including a children's newspaper called Little Apples for Young New Yorkers in elementary school.[10] As a teenager, she ran a jewelry business called Beaudangles by Suzanne.[12]
At Riverdale Country School[13], Klahr developed an interest in human rights, founding a school chapter of Amnesty International.[5] She continued to explore social work as an undergraduate at Brown University, where she interned with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.[14] After completing her degree in 1994, Klahr joined the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, PC, in Boston, where she observed the firm’s community engagement efforts.[1]
In 1999, Klahr graduated from Stanford Law School, where she served as president of the Public Interest Law Students Association and volunteered with the East Palo Alto Community Law Project.[15]
Through a Skadden Fellowship, she launched BUILD, aiming to give students hands-on business experience as a pathway to graduation and college readiness.[16] BUILD has since expanded to cities including Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and New York City.[17]
Klahr has lectured on social entrepreneurship at Stanford, Harvard, and Northwestern Law School, and her course on the subject was the first offered at a U.S. law school.[15]She is currently CEO of Mayacamas Partners, a coaching and consulting firm, and a member of the International Coaching Federation.[3]
Personal life
editShe is married to Joshua Klahr[7] with whom she has two children.[1] Klahr is a member of the Young President's Organization (YPO) and has served as a forum moderator.[15]
Awards
edit- In 2007, she was honored by CBS's Jefferson Award on television, radio, and print.[2]
- In 2008, Suzanne was elected to the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame.[15]
- In 2009, she was named one of Silicon Valley's Most Influential Women by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Times.[9]
- In 2011, she was awarded as the KQED Local Hero for Women's History Month.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ a b c Johnson, Whitney. "Mentors Matter: There Are So Many Different Ways To Mentor". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "Suzanne McKechnie Klahr". fortyover40.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "DPELC-MSL Speaker Series: Suzanne Klahr, JD, Founding Partner at Mayacamas Partners and BUILD | MSL 360". sites.northwestern.edu. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b Moody, Shelah (2007-03-04). "JEFFERSON AWARD / Presented to Suzanne McKechnie Klahr / Students gain a solid foundation to build on". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "Suzanne McKechnie Klahr | Ashoka". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Frazier, Andre (2013-07-24). "Scene Event: Build Gala Honors Marissa Mayer". Haute Living. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ a b "WEDDINGS; Joshua Klahr, Suzanne McKechnie". New York Times.
- ^ "Beyond the Law: JD's in all Walks of life". Stanford Law School. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "Ep. 34: Suzanne McKechnie Klahr of Build". SOCAP Global. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ a b "Where It All Began With Suzanne McKechnie Klahr". The Startup Squad. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ Johnson, Whitney. "How Jack Dorsey Is Helping Build This Non-Profit". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ "Suzanne McKechnie Klahr". Changemaker Library (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Heyman, Marshall. "Build Taps Into New York's Entrepreneurial Giving Base". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Bacon, Katie. "The Lawyerpreneurs: Helping students get their ideas off the ground". Harvard Law School. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ a b c d "Suzanne McKechnie Klahr – SMC Women's Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Cohan, Peter. "BUILD Taps Silicon Valley To Paint A Brighter Future For Disengaged Youth". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ Noto, Anthony. "Build NYC wields the power of entrepreneurship to keep kids in school". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "The Shriver Report – BUILD: IN BUSINESS TO LEARN". shriverreport.org. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "KQED Annual Report 2011 by KQED - Issuu". issuu.com. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2024-11-15.