Susan is co-presenting with Susan Bushell on Midlife Surprises. She will be bringing a perspective of how she’s juggled caring for an ailing father with a high level executive position in software implementation and how Tapping assisted her with the most recent career change.

“Tapping Through Tough Times and Transitions”

In June of 2021, Susan (Sue) Van Klink’s dad, who lived at home with her, was diagnosed with terminal liver disease and given less than a 50% likelihood of living until the end of the year. She was six months into a new (big) job as the Chief Revenue and Chief Diversity Officer of a San Francisco Bay Area software company. The grief of the diagnosis, the demands on her time to care for her father, and the big (new) job, all combined to put her into a state of complete overwhelm. She literally felt like she was drowning – sinking deeper in rough waters, unable to break free.

By working with her Tapping therapist, Susan Bushell, Sue was able to Tap her way back to dry ground. In this session you will learn how to use Tapping effectively to calm the overwhelm of any situation you find yourself in, allowing you to BREATHE again. Additionally, you will learn how Sue identified the “must haves” for her own mental and physical health and was able to ask for (and receive them) from her employer and the people around her. Finally, we’ll share how this crisis became the foundation for transformative work that allowed Sue to break free from the corporate life she had been struggling with for seven years and find her way into the next chapter of her career: self-employment.

Bio

Prior to becoming self-employed, Susan has spent the last twenty years as a high growth software executive. She launched her career as a human resources practitioner before transitioning into software implementation and sales with companies like Taleo, SuccessFinder, SuccessFactors and League. Most recently she was the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Diversity Officer of the Bay Area employee retention and wellbeing solution, Grokker.

Leveraging her own experience coming up through the ranks in a very male dominated culture, Van Klink is also passionate about helping executives and future leaders accelerate their career growth through her current executive coaching practice. Certified in EQi and SuccessFinder assessments as the foundation of her practice, and leveraging her own 30 years of leadership expertise, she focuses on whole person coaching and development

Susan Van Klink holds a degree in Arts, Speech and Communication from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She’s a writer, speaker and global spokesperson, regularly presenting at conferences and to senior executives about topics such as scaling up companies, gender equality, DIEB (Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging) practices and all things talent: culture, well-being, retention and caregiver support. A caregiver to her own father at age 83, Van Klink has experienced first hand how employer support can make a world of difference to employees tasked with this critical “third shift” and advocates for her fellow caregivers wherever she can.