Susan Retik

Susan Retik is the Co-Founder and CEO of Beyond the 11th, a non-profit that supports and empowers Afghan widows. The organization provides grants to NGO partners who deliver income-generating programs and financial stipends to widow-headed households. Her commitment to this work was born from personal tragedy when her husband David was killed in the September 11th attacks, leaving her seven months pregnant with their third child.

Susan has received numerous awards for her humanitarian work, including the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Barack Obama and the CARE Global Leaders Network Humanitarian Award. She has been featured in major media including Oprah, the Today Show, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and she is the subject of the award-winning documentary Beyond Belief.

Susan is also a Certified Leadership Coach who maintains a private practice and serves on the faculty of the Co-Active Training Institute, where she trains aspiring coaches. She works pro bono with the Women's Impact Alliance, where she provides 1:1 coaching to nonprofit leaders and conducts monthly leader labs for their cohort of women changemakers.

She serves on the board of the David E. Retik Christopher D. Mello Foundation, created in memory of her late husband and his colleague. The foundation honors their legacy by providing grants to nonprofits focused on LGBTQ issues, homelessness, and food insecurity.