Contact: sfr4@cornell.edu
607-227-5691
Susan Riley
Susan Riley is Deputy Director for Community Relations and has been a staff member at Cornell since 1995. Prior to joining the Community Relations team in the spring of 2015, she served in several leadership positions in Residence Life at Cornell. Susan grew up in central Connecticut, and after studying Journalism and College Student Development, eventually made her way to Ithaca via New Hampshire, Maine, and Ohio. Susan has served on several local non-profit boards including the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, United Way, Human Services Coalition, Chamber of Commerce , the Environmental Management Council, and previously, on the Ithaca LGBT Task Force. Susan also leads the Cornell United Way campaign as the Coordination Director.
Susan is interested in a variety of shared community-campus issues, including housing, sustainability, and transportation, and has served as coordinator of the annual Community Relations drive-in regional conference related to these topics.
Contact: kds95@cornell.edu
607-793-6267
Kate Supron
Kate Supron is the Campus-Community Liaison for Cornell Community Relations. She has been on staff at Cornell beginning in 2016, first with the Office of Engagement Initiatives, prior to joining Community Relations. Kate previously served as Mayor of the Village of Cayuga Heights for 6 years, and has a background in preK-12 education, both as a teacher and a member of pre-school and PTA boards.
Kate works with local governments, school districts and non-profits to facilitate productive, connections between Cornell University and Tompkins County. She currently serves on Cornell's Employee Assembly and the University Relations Diversity Committee, and off-campus, on the boards of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Lifelong, Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway, and the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council. Among other responsibilities, Kate produces Cornell's annual and widely circulated Local Economic Snapshot.
Contact: pjg1@cornell.edu
607-280-2599
Penny Givin
Penny Givin coordinates day-to-day operations in the Office of Community Relations. Her career at the University began in 1986 in Government and Community Relations, with responsibilities including oversight of voluntary contributions, time-sensitive scheduling – often with off-campus and internal leadership – and front-line office management. For many, both on and off campus, she is the face of Cornell Community Relations.
Penny, a native of Schuyler County, serves as administrative coordinator for the nationally recognized Cornell United Way campaign, Cornell’s annual Town-Gown Awards (the TOGOs), and other high-profile Community Relations’ initiatives. She is a previous winner of the Ithaca Rotary Club Pride of Workmanship Award, a 2017-18 Leadership Tompkins graduate and a member of the Child Development Council Board, the Child Development Council Executive Committee and Governance Committee.
Contact: ks325@cornell.edu
607-279-0010
Katelynne Sherwood
Kate is often the first face one sees in the 110 Day Hall suite as the Administrative Assistant for Community Relations. She is responsible for high-level office coordination, serves as a representative on the Cornell Events Management Planning Team, and oversees the office’s social media platforms and outreach initiatives, including our website.
In addition, Kate maintains essential databases capturing hundreds of town-gown stakeholders, and works with colleagues on key Community Relations’ programs and events.
A Tompkins County native, Kate studied Business at Tompkins Cortland Community College prior to beginning her Cornell career in 2005, with previous experience in the Office of the Bursar and at The Statler Hotel. She is a graduate of Leadership Tompkins class of 2020.