Suzanne Pickett is a Jacksonville native and the CEO of Historic Eastside CDC, a Community Housing Development Organization she founded in 2013 after returning to her family’s Eastside neighborhood. Driven by a commitment to preservation and place-based revitalization, she has led the organization’s evolution into a certified CDC and CHDO( Community Housing Development Organization — championing the protection of historic structures as anchors of cultural identity and community stability.

A multi-disciplinary visual artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Communications from the University of North Florida and a certification in community real estate development from the University of South Florida, Suzanne brings a rare dual lens to neighborhood transformation. Her mural work and art practice are inseparable from her development mission — both rooted in the conviction that the built environment, its history, and its people are profoundly interconnected.

At the intersection of preservation and equity, Suzanne works to ensure that historic structures on Jacksonville’s Eastside are not lost to displacement pressures, but restored as living assets that reflect and serve long-time residents. Her guiding principle — Lift as I climb, give as I grow — shapes every aspect of her work, from securing affordable housing to cultivating community ownership and pride. Suzanne believes that preserving the physical fabric of a neighborhood is inseparable from preserving the people who give it meaning.