Managing Director, Charles Ryan Associates
By Dawn Nolan
FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS and fortitude—these four things, along with her leadership, tenacity and hard work, are what Susan Lavenski credits for the successes in her life and getting her to where she is today. Lavenski, who has been with Charles Ryan Associates for 12 years, is the managing director for the marketing firm and as such is in charge of overall account management as well as the leadership of the company’s account staff. She also serves as Charles Ryan’s ambassador to Marshall University and West Virginia University, where she speaks to students about employment opportunities in the state. Another opportunity that allowed Lavenski to connect with students is when she was teaching at West Virginia Wesleyan, where she was an adjunct communications professor.
As a child growing up in Lewisburg, Lavenski thought she would pursue a career as a television reporter. She attended Marshall to pursue her degree in broadcast journalism but switched to public relations. “While attending Marshall University’s School of Journalism, I was truly provided with opportunities to experience public relations first-hand and to learn from seasoned professionals who had been in the field for years. I was a broadcast major but took a few courses in public relations. I loved it, so I switched my concentration to PR,” she says. Lavenski continued her education at Marshall, later earning her master’s degree in political science. Her first job after school was serving as development director at the Children’s Treatment Center in Clarksburg, where she implemented numerous programs for children with disabilities.
Mentors in Lavenski’s life include her family, parents Benny and Dottie Hellems, her brother Scott Hellems, her sister Julie Roberts and Jeff Bryant, one of her high school teachers at Greenbrier East. “Mr. Bryant instilled in his students the importance of leadership, hard work and responsibility. Those traits have served me well during my career. He demanded the very best of every student and he was instrumental in shaping the work habits I have today. I hope teachers never forget the kind of influence they have on students.”
Although this self-proclaimed junk food junkie and avid runner was given the opportunity to leave West Virginia, Lavenski stayed because of her love for the state and the potential she sees in it. “I have lived all over the state and I love every place I’ve lived. I loved growing up in Lewisburg, going to school in Huntington, beginning my career in Harrison County, growing my career in Charleston and raising my family in Putnam County. While I was given the opportunity to leave, I chose to stay in West Virginia because I wanted to make a difference and I am making that difference by helping develop communities and improve business prospects for the state. This state is precious to me and I remained here because I want it to be precious to my children as well.”
Lavenski’s commitment to West Virginia is evident in the local community organizations that she is involved in. She is a fundraiser for the West Virginia Titans baseball team, a former member of the Miss West Virginia Scholarship Organization and Pageant Board of Directors, a former board member of the Hurricane Little League, a member of the Economic Development Committee of the Charleston Area Alliance and a member of the board of directors for the West Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and she serves on the West Virginia Roundtable.
Her children—Travis, 13, and Trenton, 7—are what Lavenski claims as her greatest successes, as well as her greatest source of motivation, along with her business partners Caryn Durham and Aly Goodwin-Gregg, her co-workers and her inherent drive to succeed.
Photography by Tracy Toler
