Our work is about community, showing up for our neighbors, and advocating for every path of recovery. We’re grateful for our participants, staff, and supporters who face seemingly insurmountable obstacles daily and do the hard work anyway. Despite switchbacks and rocky terrain, the ETS community persists.
At this year’s Roots of Recovery: Moving Mountains gala, we were proud to celebrate a longtime friend of ETS. Suzanne Hittman—Seattleite, advocate, and philanthropist—is our 2025 Evergreen Trailblazer Award recipient!
Suzanne has spent her whole life deeply rooted in Seattle, and she knows the city like the back of her hand. She grew up on a farm in the South Park neighborhood and spent much of her childhood roaming the stalls at Pike Place Market. Her grandfather was Giuseppe “Joe” Desimone, an immigrant farmer turned businessman, who came to own the market for several years before her uncle took over. Her family ran Pike Place Market until the 1970s, when the city bought and preserved it as a historic landmark.
She’s been witness to inequities in our region throughout her life. Growing up in the Great Depression, Suzanne remembers when “Hoovervilles” sprung up near Seattle’s waterfront as people struggled to make ends meet. She recalls the racist redlining policies that continue to shape Seattle politics today. She embarked on a career focused on helping her community and studied psychology at Stanford University during a time when few women had access to higher education. Suzanne raised a family and charted a career in professional fundraising, social work, and political activism.
We were fortunate enough to cross paths with Suzanne in 2017. ETS’ former Executive Director Molly Carney was featured in a Puget Sound Business Journal article where she discussed safe injection sites. Soon after the article was published, Suzanne called up ETS and left a voicemail asking how she could get involved.
Suzanne was passionate about supporting ETS from the start, despite the stigmatizing narratives still associated with harm reduction practices. She told us that elected officials needed to wake up, listen to the experts, and do the right thing by investing in resources that work. Suzanne donated $1,000 the same week she left her first voicemail and thus began a warm partnership between Suzanne and ETS.
Over nearly a decade, Suzanne has not only significantly increased her giving to ETS but has served as a strategic advisor to the organization. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her varied career and lifetime in Seattle. She’s connected ETS with many other philanthropists, elected officials, and community supporters.
Suzanne served on the Campaign Cabinet for the Capital Campaign ETS launched to redevelop our Seattle clinic into a hub for much-needed care. And most recently, Suzanne became the first individual donor to the campaign, with a generous gift of $500,000.
Now in her 90s, Suzanne’s commitment to community is as strong as ever. ETS is grateful for Suzanne’s leadership, advocacy, and heart. Join us in celebrating Suzanne for her remarkable, compassionate partnership. Thank you for blazing the trail!
