Donor Spotlight

Sue West was born in California, and that’s where she lives today. But in between, she has crisscrossed the globe.

“Thanks to a scholarship, I traveled to Japan when I was 17, which taught me there are many ways of living,” says Sue. “We are all on a journey up our own internal mountain, and there is no one right path to the top.”

When it comes to mountains, Sue has scaled her fair share—literally and figuratively. Her family moved several times when she was a child, which made it difficult to establish strong friendships. But as a teenager in California, Girl Scouts offered camaraderie and adventure. “We probably hiked every trail around Mount Tamalpais,” she says. Then during her college years, she jumped at the chance to take a mountain-climbing class at the University of Washington. “I climbed Mount St. Helens, Adams, Rainier and Washington. Those are views you never forget.

Sue’s outdoor adventures informed her giving. She has been a donor to The Nature Conservancy longer than she can remember and further enhanced her conservation legacy by including TNC in her trust. “I support organizations that try to preserve nature in a way that works with communities,” she says. “TNC doesn’t make the rules or put up fences.”

In 2003, Sue retired from a fulfilling career in a hospital lab. She then learned to be a tax preparer, which led to a rewarding volunteer role helping people, senior citizens in particular, file their tax returns. Those experiences and her mother’s death gave Sue a renewed eagerness to see the world. She became intrigued by Legacy Journeys, exclusive travel opportunities for members of TNC’s Legacy Club. She was hesitant to go alone, but memories of finding community in nature gave her the confidence to sign up. Her first trip was to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “I had no idea Lake Superior was so vast,” she says. “I met so many wonderful people, and I just knew I had to take more trips with TNC.” She later joined Legacy Journeys to Georgia’s Little St. Simons Island and Montana’s Pine Butte Guest Ranch.

Reflecting on her life so far—from piloting a plane in the Powder Puff Derby, a legendary all-women transcontinental race that included competitors like Amelia Earhart, to officiating the wedding of a cherished young friend from India— Sue is adamant that purpose, friendship and community are essential to happiness. She says, “I am just the most fortunate person in the world.”