Susan Kolon is a worksite wellness communications expert, team performance leader and wellness coach specializing in health promotion and wellness education. For more than 20 years, she has managed integrated marketing communications that impact bottom-line results for Fortune 500 companies and national nonprofit organizations, including some of the country’s largest health and health education-related entities. As a certified corporate wellness specialist®, Susan works with individuals, health and wellness companies, benefits consultants and HR departments to design and implement management and communications strategies for wellness programs to increase participation, engagement and satisfaction for overall health and well-being.
Susan brings to workplace wellness programs an incredibly potent combination of health promotion communications expertise, executive leadership competency, client relationship skills and innovative engagement solutions. An excellent presenter, facilitator and public speaker, she is equally comfortable articulating strategy to executives or program details to management and staff. As both a consultant and wellness coach, she uses her highly engaging, humorous approach to educate, motivate and celebrate.
Susan has a proven track record in guiding organizations and their members through positive change to meaningful results. She has served in senior marketing posts at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, YMCA of the USA, Junior Achievement and RR Donnelley. Her background and experience at BCBSA and Y-USA, in particular, give her valuable insights into the successful corporate wellness program delivery components, as well as a strong appreciation for the strategic business imperative of such efforts. Susan is also well-versed in consulting, having spent the early part of her career as a marketing and PR professional at Deloitte, Burson Marsteller and Manning, Selvage & Lee.
Susan is certified in worksite wellness by both the Corporate Health and Wellness Association and is a Faculty Member of The Wellness Council of America (WELCOA). She also completed the rigorous Academy of Healthcare Management Program, and has extensive training in customer loyalty, data, segmentation and metrics, team leadership and executive communications.
Susan’s civic involvement reflects her commitment to health and well-being and her personal interest in helping to improve people’s lives. She has served on the board of directors at the Arthritis Foundation of Greater Chicago and was corporate communications campaign chair for the United Way of Greater Chicago. She has volunteered at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Girl Scouts of Chicago, has been a guest lecturer at Northwestern University and Columbia College, and mentors college graduates in career development.
Susan earned a Master of Science in Managerial Communications from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Michigan State University, where she was a member of the Women’s Swimming and Diving Team.
She is a triathlete, golfer, walking enthusiast and yoga practitioner.
Kolon Performance Strategies 