Thousands of miles away in the war zone of Iraq, Dr. Susanne E. Jalbert (pictured third from left) is working to develop local business and entrepreneurship among enterprising Iraqis. She is currently in Baghdad as Senior Advisor of Business Development Services for Tijara (which in Arabic means "trade") and was previously Director of Business Development Services for Izdihar (which in Arabic means “prosperity”). Both projects are sponsored by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the aim of working with men and women to develop a “market-friendly environment for economic growth.”
Raised in rural Nebraska, Susanne earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College, a small Catholic school in Moraga, CA, by attending night classes over a period of nine years. To make ends meet and pay for tuition she had to work multiple jobs during all hours of the day and night. “I never minded combining work and school as they went hand-in-hand. I earned a living as a waitress, hotel maid, factory worker and bookkeeper, which led to the profession of accounting and ownership of tax, consulting and art businesses.”
After graduation from St. Mary’s and a “wild 10 years of creative business exploration, management and growth,” Susanne divested four businesses to free her energy to travel the world. Along the way she discovered that her real interests were not the business pursuits of her younger years. She discovered her true passion in developing regions, helping local people develop their own business practices. She was struck by the social and gender economic inequities she witnessed in her travels, and came back to the states to arm herself with the tools necessary to affect real and vital change.
During the early 1990s, Susanne moved to Colorado with her banker husband Bill. As Susanne and Bill celebrate their 35th anniversary, she asserts, “Honestly, none of the work I do, given the extraordinary circumstances I live under, could be achieved without his unequivocal, unending support.”
Enrolling in graduate classes at Colorado State University, she received her Masters in Adult Business Education in 1997, and her Doctorate degree in Education and Human Resources, with a focus on International Business Education and Training, in 1999. “The exciting thing about education (practical and academic) is that one is constantly encouraged to absorb more,” said Dr. Jalbert. “My CSU degrees have deeply informed my work and vice versa.”
Susanne began her economic consulting work in developed countries such as in Japan and Western Europe. Not feeling she was making as much of an impact through her work as she believed possible, she shifted her focus to developing countries: Nepal, Thailand, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, where she was witness to great civil strife and upheaval. Moving into transitioning countries like Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, Susanne reflected on professional growth through perpetual professional experimentation, “You can see the succession of increasingly challenging economies,” she said. “It seemed logical to apply my diverse economic development skills in war-ridden Iraq.”
Currently stationed in the red zone of Baghdad, Iraq (“There are only two zones in Baghdad: the green zone that houses the multi-national force coalition, and everywhere else, aka the red zone .”), Susanne has to date completed over 80 overseas assignments, and in total has worked in nearly 40 counties on every continent around the globe.
Working primarily through business associations and community-based non-governmental organizations to impact individuals and families in Iraq, Susanne’s work empowers and arms people with tools of self-determination and entrepreneurship. She travels around the war zone continually, albeit carefully; and although she says, “precautions are in place to protect me and the project,” there are many dangers and distractions at hand. Her travel is by civilian aircraft, military air (C130 cargo planes and helicopters), private security detail convoy, and military Humvee support.
However, says Susanne, “Interaction with Iraqis is the highlight of every day and my entire reason to staying in Iraq the past 2 1/2 years. Iraqis are warm, welcoming, eager to learn, and determined to make a difference in their lives. Without their wholehearted willingness to work side-by-side with me, I couldn’t possibly stay.”
When asked what she defines as progress and what she hopes to accomplish with her work, Susanne is quick to say, “Progress is based on building business and management skills capacity of our Iraqi staff, partners and stakeholders and forging strong relationships through strategic alliances and coalitions with respected government and private sector business leaders.”
Success and progress in Iraq is determined by a penetrating focus on stable security coupled with economic progress in all sectors of society; it is developing “sustainable wealth creation processes for an individual who then can appropriately contribute to the framework of his or her community,” said Susanne. “I am passionate about global entrepreneurial growth and not satisfied just to educate. My intension is to advocate, produce, support, and encourage free market enterprise leaders in every corner of our world.”
Susanne’s personal goals are to build something in Iraq that will remain long after the last soldier has gone home. She is working at a grassroots level to establish enhanced long-term business standards leading to a better way of life, including improved education and health-delivery systems, more jobs, more choices, and a cleaner environment. “I aspire to impact individuals who are actively engaged in local business associations, which will roll all member voices into influential advocacy to improve economic conditions for their society as a whole.”
As a part of a broad-based, “globalization” movement gaining a foothold throughout the world in under-developed and developing countries, Dr. Jalbert’s ultimate goals are to include the economies of countries such as Iraq and others in an increasingly interrelated global marketplace. “Globalization doesn’t affect just me or the people of the current country my feet are in,” said Susanne, “It reaches, touches and affects each and every human being inhabiting the earth today.”
Dr. Jalbert has written and published dozens of technical articles, professional papers and columns in addition to her books, videos and CDs. She has interviewed on National Public Radio and other stations informing and rallying the local, regional and multi-national development of women entrepreneurs and business associations; and she has been an outspoken opponent of such destructive problems as global human trafficking and war.
There is a poem by Emily Dickinson she has carried with her for over 20 years. “And while I grandiosely think I am making changes worldwide or nationwide or community wide,” says Susanne, “the poem reminds me to step back and always remember the individual.”
If I can ease one life the aching,
or cool one pain,
or help one fainting robin
unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickinson
Dr. Jalbert has indeed had an enormous impact on the world. Not just on one life, but on many. In the regions where she has sought out solutions to positively impact local people, she has helped provide for them a foundation of new skills, confidence and trust upon which are built sustainable economic progress. She has not only helped improve individual and community living conditions, but has managed to affect the lives of people in a systemic and lasting way.
Dr. Jalbert’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program is reaping tremendous rewards and under Tijara will become nationwide in Iraq. Currently there are eight SBDCs open and operating with more in the works. Izdihar, Tijara, USAID and the SBDCs recently recognized Dr. Jalbert as the "architect and champion of the Iraqi Small Business Development Centers program."
One Baghdad resident and colleague whose life has personally been influenced by Dr. Jalbert, said recently: “Susanne taught me to be patient, how to deal with tough situations and solve problems in a wise way; when to say Yes and when to say No, how to be tough and soft at the same time; (she) encouraged me to go forward and take initiatives in my practical life; how to take responsibility in a professional way, and how to have faith in myself and the future of my country. She opened my mind to the other side of the world community, and now I know that people can be friends no matter what.”
For a rich picture of ex-pat life in war-stricken Iraq, Dr. Jalbert recommends reading:
Rory Stewart: The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq
James Stephenson and Richard L. Armitage: Losing the Golden Hour: An Insider's View of Iraq's Reconstruction
T. Christian Miller: Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq
Rajiv Chandrasekaran: Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone
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