Suzanne Benson Robotti
President,
Board of Directors of Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Suzanne Benson Robotti has been the President of the Board of Directors of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens since 2007. Her duties include leading the board and “securing the future of the Club for boys and girls financially to raise money and make sure the kids have a safe place to go after school.” Robotti also makes sure that “activities and programs are appropriate, challenging, and involving for kids.” Additionally, she is a member of the Sinai Community Relations Board and the Epiphany Foundation Board.
PERSONAL: Robotti was born in Syracuse, New York but raised in New Jersey. She attended the University of Maryland where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. She is married and has her 17-year-old nephew Dan living with her, saying that Dan has been a “wonderful addition to our lives.” During her free time, she enjoys investing, doing some business consulting, playing tennis, and reading novels from authors like Amy Tan. She says, “Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I read light and happy novels because reading about the holidays keeps me in the mood of the season.”
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: She says her biggest challenge thus far concerns the Variety Boys & Girls Club. “It’s a 55-year-old building that needs updating and renovations to bring it up to the children’s needs,” said Robotti. “The gym and pool are still fabulous but other rooms like the art rooms, library, and computer center all need refurbishing and updating.” Robotti says that all of these projects are pricey, so she is hoping to raise $3-5 million. “We need to do it for the kids,” she said. “They deserve a place that isn’t in the 1950s, but rather a place that reflects the era that they’re living in.”
FAVORITE MEMORY: Robotti says her 20th wedding anniversary is very special to her, recalling that “we were able to invite back our entire wedding party and family.” She also says celebrating the first year of her nephew Dan living with her and her husband has been “rewarding and wonderful.”
INSPIRATION: Having been an entrepreneur for most of her business career, Robotti says “being married to a family of entrepreneurs is inspirational because it’s great to have that in common with them.” She is also inspired by community and charitable work, saying that her mother “was always active in the community when I was growing up,” and that her “in-laws have been long-time founders of the Lions Club and other charitable organizations.”
