Books Kelly Suzanne Saulsberry Loves
Kelly describes herself as a "big reader" growing up.
"As a young child growing up, I was very much interested in fiction, so I loved books like Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret." A lot of books really touched me, like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
If you're interested in social justice, government and public policy, Kelly recommends a wide variety of books, from bell hooks' ain't i a woman, to The New Jim Crow and The Big Short both about current social, political, and economic trends, to David Axelrod's memoir about his life in Politics. She also recommends Forces for Good about mission-driven not-for-profit work and Good to Great on organizational development and leadership
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
ain't i a woman: black women and feminism by bell hooks
But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men edited by Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith
The World of Patience Gromes by Scott C. Davis
Believer: My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant
“Born and bred” Chicagoan Kelly Suzanne Saulsberry now works for the City as the Director of Policy and Outreach at the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. She tells us about the roots of her passion for civic engagement and social justice, crises of confidence, investing in herself, and that she’d tell her teenage self, “Girl, you’re all right.”
Check out our interview with Kelly and find out more about her work.
