Suzanne Hart Named President of Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts has announced that Suzanne Hart has been named President of the organization for 2023/2024. Ms. Hart has been a member of the organization since 2004, when she relocated to Pasadena. New to the area, she wanted to find an organization where she could meet new friends while giving back to the community. Upon learning about Pasadena Showcase’s involvement in music and the arts as well as interior design, all while helping children, Ms. Hart said it was the “perfect fit for her and joined immediately.” The organization’s mission of supporting music and arts programs throughout the community is one that she holds very dear. “Bringing music to those that might not have the opportunity to experience it, makes me feel proud,” she says. “It’s the best feeling.” A finance person by profession, Ms. Hart is a wealth advisor focusing on investments, asset management and trust, but says she is a people person by nature. “It’s great to be able to focus on my creative side while also making a difference in the community.”

Ms. Hart says it’s an honor to be selected as this year’s president. “It’s such a privilege to lead such an amazing group of people,” she says. She feels her job is to keep the organization moving forward towards its mission by leveraging the entire Pasadena Showcase team. “Our success is based on the talent and success of the people who make up our organization. Everyone is important individually and as a group we accomplish the impossible.”

Among her plans for her year as President, Ms. Hart would like to grow membership and increase participants in the organization’s three music programs, one of which is currently being revised. “I’d like to see our Music Mobile™ program refreshed and brought back better than ever.” She would also like to “build our public presence, “ she says. “We want to make sure the public knows what we are about and all the good we do in the community,” said Ms. Hart. “We are so much more than just a pretty house.” The “pretty house” she refers to is the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, the organization’s annual benefit, which funds their philanthropic initiatives.

Ms. Hart has held numerous positions within Pasadena Showcase and has chaired two of the organization’s own music programs geared towards children, Music Mobile™ and Instrumental Competition. She has held several positions in finance, serving on the Finance, Investment and Audit committees and headed numerous other committees. A favorite role was her position as the Designer Liaison, an opportunity to work with designers and the interior design side while learning about how all of the components of the Showcase House come together.

Ms. Hart has spent many years volunteering giving her time to the La Canada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and the Spiritual Care Guild for CHLA as well as assisting with programs at the schools of her two children while they were growing up. Her children, a source of immense pride for Ms. Hart, are now both in graduate programs. “I will soon have a doctor and a lawyer in the family,” she exclaims. “It’s every mother’s dream!” She also has two furry friends at home, a Doberman and a Mini-Schnauzer that “walk her every day.” In the spare time she manages to find, she enjoys practicing yoga and dining with great friends.

About Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, has been supporting local music and arts programs since 1948. With the hard work and dedication of its 200+ members, the organization raises funds from its major benefit, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design—one of the oldest, largest, and most successful house and garden tours in the country. Throughout its history, Pasadena Showcase has given more than $25 million to nonprofit organizations, particularly through its Gifts & Grants program, in support of music education, scholarships, concerts, and music therapy, while continuing to support the LA Phil and its learning programs for which the organization was first founded. Pasadena Showcase also nurtures the study and appreciation of music among young people with its three annual music programs: the Music Mobile™, which has introduced orchestral instruments to more than 130,000 third grade students; the Instrumental Competition, which has awarded more than $650,000 in monetary prizes for exceptionally talented young musicians; and the Youth Concert, which has brought nearly 250,000 fourth graders to Walt Disney Concert Hall for exuberant performances presented by the LA Phil. For more information and photos, please visit pasadenashowcase.org.