The Westport Library’s Common Ground Initiative was formed as a forum to discuss topical issues of importance to society. In the 21st century, few issues have dominated the national conversation like COVID-19, its response, and the rollout of the vaccines to combat the virus.
As chief public corporate affairs officer at Pfizer, Sally Susman was charged with rolling out the COVID vaccine to an anxious and polarized public. The learnings from that process informed her new best-selling book, Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World.
On Monday, August 5, at 7 pm, Susman will share her takeaways from her experiences and her writing with Steve Parrish in the latest Common Ground conversation.
The event is free to attend and will be held in The Westport Library’s Trefz Forum. Registration is strongly encouraged.
The aim of the Common Ground Initiative is to host positive, productive conversations about how we work together to move forward as a civil society; encourage respectful, constructive dialogue; and build capacity to tackle challenging and/or controversial issues.
“My passion — and my goal — is to give people the tools they need to disagree agreeably,” Susman told Nantucket Magazine. “To open them up to the idea that maybe the other side is at least partially right. … I admire diplomacy a great deal. It’s in short supply these days, and it’s one of the most important things we’re missing.”
Before joining Pfizer in 2007, Susman held senior roles at The Estée Lauder Companies and American Express. She is currently the co-chair of The International Rescue Committee and serves on the board of UL Solutions. She also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In 2022, Susman was named one of the World’s Most Influential CMOs by Forbes. And in 2019, she was recognized by LinkedIn as a 2019 Top Voice.
Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World draws from her experience at Pfizer. The book provides insights on leadership and connectivity that are essential as we move forward as a society, facing challenges from political dysfunction to rampant inequity.
“If you want to improve at communication, look no further than those who do it for a living,” said Adam Grant, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking. “Sally Susman has devoted her career to bringing clarity to complexity, change, and crisis, and in this book she shares memorable stories and practical insights to help you get heard.”
Parrish is the founder of Steve Parrish Consulting Group, LLC, which specializes in crisis management, corporate social responsibility, public affairs, and communications for senior executives. Previously, Parrish was senior vice president, corporate affairs, of Altria Group, Inc., and served as secretary of the Public Affairs and Social Responsibility Committee of the board of directors of Altria Group, Inc.
Parrish also is a member of the board of directors of Orchestra Lumos and board member emeritus and past board chair of Safe Horizon, an internationally recognized leader in the field of victim assistance.
