Susie Tompkins Buell (née Russell; born 1943) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. Tompkins Buell co-founded the Esprit clothing and the North Face brand with her first husband, Doug Tompkins whom she met when she picked him up while he was hitchhiking.[1] She is also noted for her close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton and her status as a Democratic Party mega-donor.[2]
Early life
Susie Tompkins Buell was born Susan Russell in San Francisco in 1943, to parents Clarabelle and Floyd Russell. Her father was a "betting commissioner" and worked in real estate. In childhood, her family had a second home in Bolinas, which had a profound impact on her love of the natural world.
She attended primary school at the Convent School of the Sacred Heart, Ojai Valley School, and Miss Burke’s School. For high school, she attended Lowell High School in the class of 1960 but she did not graduate.[3]