Susan Noble Losapio ’83 Named New Hampshire Women in Business Advocate of the Year.

Businesswoman, mentor, volunteer, advocate. Since graduating from Plymouth State 20 years ago, Susan Losapio has become one of the most familiar and respected business professionals in New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. In 1994, she founded Losapio Training and Consulting

in Exeter (N.H.), and serves as its CEO. The firm specializes in team building, conflict resolution, workflow organization, presentation and other skills training.

Losapio has many memories of her years at Plymouth State, but one in particular stands out. “I met my husband, Mike, while we were both students there,” she explains. “Mike graduated in 1981 and manages his own accounting firm.”

Losapio was recently honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2003 New Hampshire Women in Business Advocate of the Year—and she deserves it. Despite the rigorous time demands running her own business entails, Losapio has long been a champion of women in business, both through her professional activities and as an active volunteer with the Women’s Business Center (WBC) out of Portsmouth and Manchester. Since 1995, she has played an integral role in the growth of the center, and served as chair of its board of directors in 2001-2002. She is the past president of the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, and is the current president of the Seacoast Human Resources Association. Losapio is also a resource partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA), where she volunteers training and counseling to owners and managers of small businesses.

Asked what advice she would offer a management graduate aspiring to one day start their own business, Losapio says, “I’d tell them to be getting as much business and management experience as they possibly can, even if it means doing some volunteer work. You can’t wait for the perfect time to make that move, because it never happens. You just have to have faith in yourself and go for it.”

Susan lives in Kensington (N.H.) with her husband, Mike, son Nick and daughter Amanda.—KH