ID: Suzanne J. Seymour

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Suzanne J. Seymour is the executive director of the LGBT Coalition of Western Massachusetts, and sits on the executive board for InterPride (International Pride Organizers) as the vice-president of operations and co-chair of fund development. She has hosted two local radio programs as well as a show on TRT Talk Radio, a Rainbow Times LGBT podcast. She has also written for LCBT publications and has been an emcee for events such as Northampton Pride and the Berkshire Women’s Muse Fest.

Full name: Suzanne Jean Seymour

People know you as: Suz or Suzan

Date and place of birth: March 27, 1962, Haverhill

Address: Leeds

Who lives under the same roof as you? My wife, Andrea, and our children, Scott, 15, and Nicole, 14

Education: University of Vermont, religion and philosophy major; Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Worcester

Pets: Cats: Smokey, Buddy, and Garfield; dog: Tarot

Hobbies: biking, hiking, kayaking, reading, meditation

Book you’d recommend to a friend: “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand (this book really made me think)

Favorite singer: I’m a huge Joan Jett fan ... got me through some tough younger years

Five items you can’t live without: My glasses, my bike, my kayak, my books, my car

Last thing you purchased just for fun: An Osprey backpack and an EMS tent

What’s at the top of your bucket list? To start kickboxing

Life-changing experience: Becoming a massage therapist in 1991. I’ve learned not only how to care for my body in ways that we are not taught in school or by our doctors, but also how to embrace aging and enjoy the process, just by changing the tempo of speed I live each day by

Strangest job you ever held: My very first job was at the only Scrabble chip manufacturing plant in my hometown, Fairfax, Vt., right out of high school

Current Facebook status: The moon is beautiful tonight. Now off to listen to the State of the Union!

A little-known fact about you: I owned two Domino’s Pizza franchises during my 20s

Dumbest thing you ever did: Motorcycling in the mountains of Jamaica while vacationing, I was ill-prepared for the long exposure to the sun. I was so sunburned and in dire need of relief that I just leaped into the nearest river without knowing what was down there. There was a huge boulder just under the water’s surface to greet me, and I still have the scar on my leg to prove it

One fashion you’d like to see return: I hear the groans already: the mullet and the tail

What really sets you off? Loud noises in the morning while I’m trying to sleep

If you could spend the day with a celebrity from any time in history, who would it be? British actress Helen Mirren. I’ve always loved the way she’s portrays women in her roles: strong, sexy and smart, no matter the age. It’s something I’ve come to realize is important for young women to have as a role model, especially in film

Best advice you ever got: “It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Favorite place to get a bite: Mosaic Cafe in Northampton. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is chill and the yummy Moroccan tea is incredible for rejuvenating all my senses

What does your ideal weekend look like? Being in the mountains, a cabin with a wood stove, an itinerary of biking and hiking, or lying around with good books. Throw in great food and great friends and what more could I ask for?

One thing you would change about yourself: At times, I can be a bit inflexible. I prefer to be an individual who “sways gently like a tree in the wind,” but it’s not always so easy

What gives you the creeps? The obsession with plastic surgery. If one lives their life with good intention, the wrinkles and the crinkles tell a very different story. I would love to see just as much money poured into ways we can teach ourselves to be secure in the bodies/faces/lines we have as we age

People who knew you in high school thought you were: Going to be a nun. And I actually went to the convent for a week to check it out

Whom do you most admire? Hillary Clinton, whom I met at a McDonald’s in New Hampshire, when Bill was running for office in the e_SSRq90s. I already thought she was polished, dignified and smart, and when I told her I thought she was the kind of woman who should be in the White House, she smiled and said: “You want to know that what you’re doing is something people believe in, that people really feel that. Thank you for telling me.” I’ll never forget her warm handshake and intelligent gaze

Parting shot: “Truth has few friends” — African Proverb

— Keri-Ann Aubin

Editor’s Note - To suggest someone for ID, email Keri-Ann Aubin at kaubin@gazettenet.com.