Meet Our Founder
Susan Olesek is an unapologetic idealist—a Human Potentialist who is passionate about seeing what is good and right in all of us. Born in Boston, raised in Hong Kong and Japan, and educated in England and California, Susan earned her BA in Sociology from Occidental College in 1993. Throughout her life, Susan has fostered her love of people from all walks of life.
We cannot change what we cannot see. We must be willing to take a look at what is actually going on. On the inside of jails and prisons. On the inside of family systems, and inside of ourselves.
Founder, Susan Olesek
The Spark That Became a Movement
Susan’s first experiences teaching the Enneagram in prison unlocked a truth that changed everything — we are all in a prison of our own making.
2009
A Vision...
In witnessing the intense desire of incarcerated people to understand how they got in trouble with themselves, Susan understands the Enneagram as a profound tool for self-empowerment; one to which everyone deserves access.
2012
On a Mission...
Convinced that the Enneagram should be available to people in every jail and prison in the world, Susan Founded Enneagram Prison Project (EPP)—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping people understand why we do what we do, using the Enneagram to inspire transformation on both sides of the bars.
2021
A Sustainable Future
After 10 years of honing the compassionate approach she learned from those incarcerated, Susan founded The Human Potentialists (THP), a Benefit Corporation. THP is doing business for good, by making EPP’s curriculum accessible to all people, everywhere. →can this square “flip” to have a link and picture of THP?
Susan the Parent
The basic building blocks of personality begin in childhood. Susan’s personal journey deeply informs how she has raised her three sons. She and her husband, Rick, have used the Enneagram to foster self-awareness and emotional intelligence in their family. Today, their children also use the Enneagram as a lens to understand themselves and navigate life with empathy and clarity. Susan’s parenting reflects EPP’s core belief: when we understand ourselves, we can lead lives of greater intention, self-awareness, and personal freedom to be who we are.
Validating the inherent worth of a person is absolutely the starting point of a transformative conversation—no matter on which side of the prison walls you happen to stand.
—Susan Olesek, EPP Founder
