Smile Train CEO and leadership

Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally.

Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years. In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model.

Susannah came to Smile Train after almost twenty years in operational roles, bringing a vast network and past experiences to the team. Previously, Susannah served as Vice President, Director of International Marketing at CA Technologies, where she led implementation of the company’s international marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Susannah was the Director of Marketing, Asia for CA Technologies, where she built the organization’s presence throughout the region and hosted the first regional CA World conference in China.

Susannah is a Trustee of The Smile Train UK and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the State University of New York College at Oswego.

Ashley joined Smile Train in 2017 and serves as Smile Train’s first-ever In House Counsel. She currently oversees the legal affairs of the organization, including compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and implementation of risk-management processes. She also provides legal counsel and strategic advice on a wide range of matters, including contracts and transactions, data privacy, intellectual property, employment and human resources, general corporate and governance concerns, and litigation.

Prior to joining Smile Train, Ashley practiced at the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler advising organizations on complex litigations, investigations, and intellectual property disputes. While at the firm, she was recognized for her pro bono practice and acted as Secretary of the Pro Bono Committee for the New York County Lawyers Association. Before joining Patterson Belknap, she worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Joel A. Pisano on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and for the Honorable Michael A. Chagares on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

She holds a JD from Seton Hall Law School and BA in Finance and Economics from Georgetown University.

Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally.

Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years. In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model.

Susannah came to Smile Train after almost twenty years in operational roles, bringing a vast network and past experiences to the team. Previously, Susannah served as Vice President, Director of International Marketing at CA Technologies, where she led implementation of the company’s international marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Susannah was the Director of Marketing, Asia for CA Technologies, where she built the organization’s presence throughout the region and hosted the first regional CA World conference in China.

Susannah is a Trustee of The Smile Train UK and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the State University of New York College at Oswego.