Clarity out of complexity
I’m Suzanne Bertz-Rosa, a Strategic Communications Partner. For over 20 years, I’ve helped nonprofits, community organizations, NGOs, foundations, and municipalities communicate and drive positive change. I assess situations through the lens of the goal, break problems down to their simplest form, and translate strategy into action.
One senior partner, start to finish
With Bertz-Rosa, you work directly with me. Your project doesn’t get handed to junior staff or buried under account layers.
Early in my career, I was an Art Director at Bank of America, working on advertising and print, then a Producer in their Interactive department when online banking was being invented. I ran my own design studio in San Francisco, working with clients like Charles Schwab, Citibank, Xerox, and Fujitsu. Later, I was Interactive Director and Creative Director at Young & Rubicam. I’ve been part of three start-ups. My major market experience taught me rigor, range, and how effective brand messaging actually works. I’ve spent every year since putting it to use on projects that make a positive difference.
What I love: untangling things
Give me a knot of ideas, competing priorities, and half-formed goals. I’ll find the order inside it, then sequence it into a plan, a story, and visuals that hold together.
The work is rigorous. The process is easy.
Seasoned strategic thinking, effective design, and a get-it-done attitude.
Strategy first. Brand strategy, messaging, marketing plans. I figure out what your organization needs to say, and who needs to hear it.
Then build it. Reports, identities, presentations, video, signage, websites.
Facilitation when you need it. Board retreats, community meetings, strategic planning. I listen closely, stay neutral, and help groups reach agreement.
I speak in words and visuals
I started my career in graphics. It’s my first language. I write, direct, and produce video. I don’t shoot it. I write and design for the web. I don’t code it. For the rest, I work with a vetted network of partners I’ve built over years. You still get one senior partner, start to finish. The team scales to the work.
Fluent in AI
Like the web before it, AI is here, and it’s powerful. Like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it. I use AI to move faster and dig deeper: custom workflows, curated systems, research synthesis that used to take days. Knowing what to ask, what to keep, and what to toss takes experience. I put that to work in my own process, and I build tools for clients that are reliable and save real time.
Focus Areas
- Economic Development
- Housing
- Human Services
- Education
- Arts, Culture + Quality of Life
- Place Branding
“Suzanne’s design has helped us see the beauty of who we are as a community, and that has changed everything.”
Ashley Swearengin, CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation