An Eventful Career: Susan Christian Embarks on a New Chapter

Susan Christian has worked for the City of Houston for about 40 years, and her time there was spent planning and running major municipal events. Inaugurations, 4th of July celebrations, Pride parades—you name it, she had planned it. Susan recently announced her retirement from that post to accept a new event-planning position at Rice University. She’s excited to continue her mission to build true community out of the events she helps create.

“I was tapped by Mayor Bob Lanier in 1992 to build an annual year-round, sustainable civic celebration program,” Christian explains. “His wife, Elise Lanier, and Mayor Bob valued the power of event marketing, and they were working on the neighborhood parks to bring them programs. To quote the late mayor, ‘You know we can build parks, but what good do they do if people aren’t in them?’ It was really an exciting time. That’s how we built the program, focusing on every neighborhood in Houston. We were trying to build big events of magnitude in Houston. I’ve loved working on that.”

When pressed about the benefit of having so many events in Houston, Christian says, “We’re primarily a city of people who have moved here, right? When you open up your doors to others who have not experienced Houston, whether on a neighborhood level or a huge citywide level, it helps build the spirit of the city and get them involved. Once you hook someone, it’s a great experience for you and your family, your kids, your grandkids, or whatever. You want more of that. We focused on improving and lifting up the quality of life. I personally have a real focus on getting people engaged in their community. Those experiences beget volunteerism. Take a place where there may have been a lot of negativity or criminal aspects before, and when you infuse that with positive action, those criminal elements go away. I loved my job with the City of Houston. I was honored to work for seven mayors and move their agendas forward with the power of events. I’m a very lucky person.”

When asked about her favorite city celebration, Susan waxed philosophical about the impact of the annual 4th of July celebration downtown. “It was very important for us to have that patriotic, inclusive celebration for everyone. Independence and freedom are important things. We had an average of 50,000 people show up every year. We were in people’s homes because it was televised. Having those events televised was very important to me because not everyone can get out, or they don’t want to be in a crowded situation.”

Christian also contributed to building up the LGBTQ community through her efforts in facilitating the annual Pride festivals and parades. “Of course, there were the Pride parades, which we coordinated and built up
to a certain level.”

Christian is married to Laura Spanjian, and they have two sons who are 10 and 13 years old. The two make it a priority to balance home and career. “My partner, Laura, is brilliant and wonderful,” Christian says. “Together, we make it happen. Our sons? We take them with us. My sons learned how to volunteer at a very young age and they love it, so we keep them engaged. My parents were amazing—the importance of community has always been in my family, and that’s what we wish to instill in our children.”

In reflecting on her move to Rice after such a long career with the City, Christian confides, “I’ve always wanted to have another career outside the City of Houston. I gave the City of Houston my best. I really did. When I think of Houston, I think of the wealth of opportunities in this huge city on a global scale. That’s also what attracted me to Rice University! When I think of the university, I picture a smaller city that still has this incredible global impact. I am so happy to be able to help Rice with its focus on massive growth. They have some very dynamic leaders who have brought in some really amazing people. I look forward to working on their strategy. I mean, how do you say no to Rice University? Going to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert was my first experience at Rice. My second experience was going to listen to Madeleine Albright speak at the Baker Institute. Wouldn’t that be fun to have some big concerts at Rice University? I don’t know if they’re gonna let me do that, but I hope so.”

Clearly, Christian remains ready for anything. She’s done so much for the City of Houston, and she’s about to do more for Rice University. “It’s been a heck of an experience,” Christian says, “but of course some of those moments have been hard. It is the ‘hard’ that keeps you going, because at the end of  the hard there are great rewards. You’re moving the community forward. And that’s really what I’m all about.”

Click here for a gallery of images from the February 20 event at the Hobby Center honoring Christian’s long career with the City of Houston.