My name is Susie Soriano Duarte, I am a native Austinite and grew up in East Austin. I have 6 brothers, 3 adult children and 1 granddaughter. After private school and business college, I began my internship at The Texas Attorney General’s Office Child Support Division where I accepted a full time position Sept 1994 and dedicated 19 years to the agency.
I then transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation Sept 2013 and had the privilege of retiring April 2023. I had the honor serving the State of Texas for 29 years.
In 1995 I gave birth to Alexander who was only given 1 year to live. He was born with CHARGE Syndrome. He is deaf and on oxygen & ventilator at night, fed through a feeding tube and breathes through a trach. So proud to say that he graduated from Texas School for the Deaf in 2014, he is now 29 years old and a blessing indeed. He has taught me the value of being a strong parent and I'm so very grateful to have him in our lives.
Now I work alongside my husband for Fiesta Austin and Blue Agave Travel, where I'm able to work remotely and still care for my family as well as do all the things I love through community engagement.
Tuesdays is Meals On Wheels Delivery for my favorite residents also in the morning I volunteer for Brighter Bites, AISD. As a former AISD student, I knew joining Texas PTA was a must. Wednesdays I meet with my4th grade mentee through the Seedling Program, children who's parent (s) are incarcerated have a mentor visit them weekly for lunch. Fridays I see my 84 year old friend who I take care of for a few hours.
As the East Austin Ambassador for Austin Latinas Unidas, I have incorporated my love for Wellness through monthly
events in East Austin. Various events I create are walks, runs, biking, swimming, movie nights, clothing swaps, network meet ups, one on one lunch dates.
I'm a proud mentee for The New Philanthropist. Also a mentee with Austin ALPFA .
My passion for running lead me to become a member of Twenty Six Two Marathon Club where I completed numerous half marathons and 4 full marathons. I absolutely enjoy planning free group wellness activities monthly for the community.
Practicing firearm safety I am a proud member of A Girl and A Gun where I enjoy scheduling safety classes and shooting range classes led by Sandra Woodruff.
“My grandmother, parents, aunt & uncle who raised me taught me the value of kindness, wellness, responsibilities and more importantly stability. We didn’t have much growing up, but we were instilled with love which means more to me than
anything else. If I can give back to my community by helping them feel appreciated, it makes my heart happy” – Susie Duarte
