New York’s vibrant arts scene drew Susan Madden ’84 to the City three decades ago. Since then, its theaters, museums and concert halls have not only captured her imagination, but also served as the foundation of a professional life that blends a passion for art with an expertise in fundraising. Madden has helped shape some of the City’s greatest cultural treasures. Now she is bringing her talents to the nation’s oldest, and arguably its most esteemed, symphony orchestra – the New York Philharmonic.
Madden recently began work as the Philharmonic’s vice president for development. As such, she is responsible for helping to secure the endowed, capital and annual gifts that will allow the 176-year-old orchestra to thrive for another two centuries. Madden arrived at an especially exciting time in the Philharmonic’s history. The organization recently welcomed a new music director, Jaap van Zweden, and announced an adventurous and electric 2018-19 season, including expanding the audience experience through two new informal new-music series.
Prior to arriving at the Philharmonic, Madden served as the senior vice president of development for the Paley Center for Media, where she led fundraising for an organization with a $20 million annual operating budget and oversaw a staff of 10 professionals in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Before that, she spent nearly a decade working as the senior vice president for external affairs for the Museum of the City of New York, where she successfully completed a $97 million capital campaign and helped raise $17 million for a permanent exhibit on the history of New York City. Earlier in her career, Madden worked as the chief development officer for Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project, and as director of individual giving for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Over the course of her professional life Madden has discovered that despite the challenges in fundraising, it is a rewarding field in which you can make lasting contributions to something in which you truly believe. It is a field that she came to after earning bachelor’s degree in English from Le Moyne and a master’s degree in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. She was inspired in large part by her first boss who stressed the importance of hard work and collaboration. Today, she strives to follow businesswoman and author Lynda Resnick’s charge to be a “lifter” rather than a “leaner.” Madden’s advice to young people interested in pursuing a career in arts administration is as follows: hone your communications skills, particularly your ability to write clearly, accurately and persuasively, and conduct yourself with honesty and integrity.
That is advice Director of Arts Administration Travis Newton hopes his students to take to heart.
“To have a Le Moyne alumna leading the fundraising efforts of America's first symphony orchestra is extraordinary,” he said. “For our arts administration students, this demonstrates that a Le Moyne education can be an important first chapter in a rewarding career in the arts and culture industry.”
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Music at Le Moyne,
Visual & Performing Arts