Suzanne Murphy Sullivan

Suzanne Murphy Sullivan is a third generation, lifelong Rockville Centre resident.  The fourth of six children of Edward and Joan Murphy, Suzanne was outnumbered by her five brothers: Ed, Patrick, John, James and Christopher.  Suzanne attended Hewitt Elementary, St. Agnes Cathedral School and Sacred Heart Academy.  Suzanne received her BA from Manhattan College and double majored in Government & Politics and Urban Affairs.  While at Manhattan, Suzanne was active in student government and was Captain of the 1990-91 Women’s Swim Team.  After college, Suzanne worked at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and was an Assistant Vice President / Marketing Coordinator in the Equity Capital Markets division of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ).  In 1999 she left the corporate world to stay at home to raise her family.

While at Manhattan College, Suzanne met Rob Sullivan, the fifth of ten children born to Michael and Patricia Sullivan of White Plains, NY and they married in October of 1995 at St. Agnes.  Suzanne and Rob have three children, Robert Jr., Caitlin and Patrick.  All three attended St. Agnes Cathedral School and the boys graduated Chaminade High School and Caitlin graduated Sacred Heart Academy.  Robert graduated from Manhattan College with a degree in Civil Engineering and currently works at Rimkus Engineering while pursuing his master’s in civil engineering. Caitlin graduated Suma Cum Laude from St. John’s University and is currently a 2L at St. John’s Law School and Patrick is a Senior at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business where he is majoring in Applied Accounting and Finance.

Rob, an Electrical Engineer, passed away in May of 2016 after a 6 ½ year battle with Stage IV colon cancer that he developed after he volunteered for the 3 month long special assignment as Central Office Engineer for the restoration of the 140 West Street Building after the 9/11 attacks. This assignment restored communication services to lower Manhattan, including Wall Street. After Rob’s diagnosis “The Friends of Rob Sullivan Blood Drive” was born and since the first drive in 2010, over 2,000 units of blood for New York Blood Center has been collected.  This year, “the Friends” partnered with the Friends of Mercy to return to an in-person drive after switching to a “virtual” drive due to Covid.

Suzanne has been the Director of Community Development for the Village of Rockville Centre since 2017.  Her responsibilities include writing grant applications and managing the approximately $40 million of grants the Village has been awarded since 2017 including grants for projects such as Mr. B’s Park, the Living With the Bay project which brought improvements to Lister Park, Smith Pond and Rev. Days Park, improvements to the  MLK and Senior Centers, Sharon’s Pantry at the  MLK center and improvements to the downtown as well as funding for the Fire and Police Departments. Suzanne was elected to the Rockville Centre Board of Trustees in 2006 and she also served as a member of the Village’s Planning Board.

Suzanne has been a proud member of the Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade Committee since 2006 where she has served in many roles, including former Parade Manager.  She is also a Director Emeritus of the Parade’s Board of Directors.  She is also the Past President and Executive Board Member of the St. Agnes Mothers’ Club; Co-Chair of the St. Agnes post Hurricane Sandy relief effort; four-time Co-Chair of the St. Agnes Cathedral Parish Celebration; current member of the St. Agnes Bazaar Committee; a former Baldwin PAL and Rockville Centre Soccer coach; St. Agnes CYO Swim Team coach from 2005-2021 – Head Coach from 2012-2021; Sacred Heart Academy Varsity Tennis Coach from 2015 – present; and participant Team Captain and organizer of multiple Swim Across America swims helping to raise tens of thousands of dollars for the fight against cancer.  Suzanne is also a member of the St. Agnes CYO Board as well as the Nassau-Suffolk Athletic Committee.

In 2013 and in 2015 (along with her fellow female St. Patrick’s Parade Board Directors), Suzanne was recognized by Assemblyman Brian Curran as a “Woman of Distinction”.  Suzanne and Rob were the honorees at the 2014 St. Agnes Parish Party and Suzanne and her children were recognized by the Swim Across America Nassau-Suffolk Committee for their dedication for Swim Across America.