Susan MacKenzie, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retreat leader, parish consultant, and educator. Her life’s work engages individuals and groups that wish to align their lives and organizational missions with deeply held values and a shared sense of purpose. Her primary work is with individuals, churches, and nonprofits.
She offers retreats and seminars on topics including spirituality, nature, social and environmental justice, sustainability, and values to environmental nonprofits and faith-affiliated groups throughout the Northeast. Her retreats are geared to a range of audiences, including women only or mixed gender groups, Christians from mainline Protestant denominations and/or Catholics, and/or spiritual seekers with no affiliation to organized traditions. In short, Susan is comfortable with anyone who seeks to live from a deep center of personal integrity and meaning, honoring whatever s/he names as sacred.
Susan teaches courses titled World Religions and the Environment, Sustainable Development, and American Environmental Literature in the Environmental Studies Program at Colby College. In addition, Susan is a faculty member for the 5-day Spiritual Formation Academy sponsored by The Upper Room in Nashville TN.
Susan earned a doctorate at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources. She is an expert in ecosystem management and institutional innovation. She earned two masters degrees at the Institute of Public Policy Studies and School of Natural Resources prior to completing her doctoral work. In graduate school, Susan received the Ayers Brinser Award for outstanding scholarship, and the Stanley A. Cain Award for academic achievement and professional promise. She was elected chapter president of the Xi Sigma Pi Forestry Honor Society.
Susan has published or presented research on protecting the integrity of regional ecological systems including the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Maine, and the Northwoods. As a Scholar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, she completed research on a book titled Integrated Resource Planning and Management, published by Island Press in 1996. At the present time, Susan is contracted to write a book on Spirituality and Nature, which will be forthcoming in 2021.
Susan lives in Maine with her husband. They share their homestead with chickens, bees, gardens and Wellington, their first dog. She enjoys time in nature and is passionate about playing SATB recorders, particularly polyphonic Renaissance and early Baroque pieces.
Contact Susan via email at: susanmackenzie918@gmail.com
Click here for a copy of my curriculum vitae.
Susan MacKenzie, Ph.D. 