When Susan Durrwachter was growing up here in Williamsport, she could have scarcely imagined that one day she would be rubbing elbows with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Donald Trump, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, the Jacksons, Matt Damon, and several four and five-star generals. She was able to do this as the result of her work as an associate producer for Oprah Winfrey’s Oxygen Network, and later as a producer at NBC News and at CNN, where she now works as a producer.

In addition to her stellar career she also, locally, has been named Volunteer of the Year by the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy, she served two years as chairman of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and as president of AIDS Alliance of Lycoming County.

Durrwachter is the daughter of Dr. George and Shirley Durrwachter, both of whom are thoroughly immersed in doing good for others through their various philanthropic activities. Durrwachter said that she considers her parents to be “great role models” who have influenced her in a very positive way and have been critical to her success by encouraging her to work hard and to do her best at all that she does.

She went to Williamsport Area High School and graduated in 1981. She was very active in sports, earning letters in three sports — gymnastics, track, and tennis, which she said taught her discipline, form friendships, overcoming adversity, resilience, and teamwork — all qualities important in her personal and professional life.

“I got into journalism by accident. I was schooled as a clinician and while working as an exercise physiologist in Ft. Myers Florida, I was recruited to co-host regular health spots on the local CBS news,” Durrwachter told Webb Weekly. “I found the experience of television production fascinating. When I moved back home, Babe Mayer, my high school physical education teacher who (then) hosted ‘The Local Sports Break’ show (produced by Susquehanna Communications), asked me if I wanted to produce and report on women’s sports. I jumped at the chance and worked on that show until it ended in the late 1990s.”

She then moved on to New York City, the media capital of the US, and perhaps the world, to see what opportunities might beckon there.

“I moved to NYC shortly after that to see if I could work ‘in the big leagues,’ I left with no job prospects or leads, but my thinking was if I were where I wanted to work, then it’d be easier to find work,” said Durrwachter. “It was tough because I had no real television production experience and no degrees in journalism/television production. I picked up work on television/movie sets where a earned my Screen Actors Guild card (SAG) and stood in/photo doubled and was an extra for many actresses like Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘Sex & the City,’ Meryl Streep in ‘It’s Complicated’, Jodie Foster in ‘Panic Room.’ I stood in for Vanity Fair covers with Annie Leibovitz. I got a part playing a reporter opposite of Matt Damon in the ‘Adjustment Bureau.’”

She then picked up work as an associate producer with Oprah Winfrey’s fledgling network, “Oxygen Media.” It was while working there that she would witness and helped record one of the darkest days in American history — the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Because my parents always instilled in me to never be late to work or school, I typically got to work an hour before everyone else. On the morning of Sept 11, 2001, I was at work at Oxygen Media, located in the meatpacking district of New York City. I had just poured myself a cup of coffee in the office kitchen and noticed my boss standing on a chair trying to look at the TV (mounted high on the wall near the ceiling) closer. When asked, she said there was a plane that flew into the World Trade Center building. She asked us to go out and film it,” Durrwachter recalled. “A cameraman and a few of us crawled out the window onto the roof and we filmed the second plane crash (later the FBI took our footage to investigate). That day not only changed the world, but changed the course of my career. I then landed work at NBC News/MSNBC where I booked and produced guest segments starting with the war right after 9/11, ‘Shock and Awe,’ and beyond. Three months after starting at NBC, they offered me a staff position, and I stayed for nearly eight years. I only left to follow my boss from NBC to CNN.”

After seven years at NBC, Durrwachter became an editorial producer for CNN in 2009, where she continues work today, booking and producing guest segments for many shows, including: “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” “Inside Politics with John King,” “CNN New Day,” “Campbell Brown” (now canceled), and “Piers Morgan Tonight” (now canceled). She continues to produce CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve special in Times Square with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

Between her time at NBC and CNN, she’s booked and produced segments for high-profile guests, including President Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Beyonce, Jimmy Fallon, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Howard Stern, Joe Namath, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Rod Stewart, Mark Cuban, Aretha Franklin, Bruno Mars, The Jacksons (first interview together in 30 years), and Joan and Jackie Collins (only interview together).

She was asked about the most unusual thing that happened during her career, and she said, “Maybe not unusual, but when Peter Jennings passed away, we were minutes from our show airing on CNN with Campbell Brown. It was mayhem because we had to blow out our show and start fresh and go with this breaking news; my boss yelled out to us, ‘Get guests now!’ For high profile guests, typically, you go through their handlers, publicists, managers. I saved Sam Donaldson’s home number, saved from a previous booking, and called him. His wife picked up and said he was out back chopping wood, and she’d get him. I told him the news of his friend/colleague passing away, and he joined our broadcast and gave a wonderful tribute.”

She gave her approach to life and work and said, “My approach to life and work is to hit the ground running, and I’m a big believer in being reliable (do what you say, say what you do), I called myself ‘friendly aggressive’ because working in the news business you have to be otherwise you won’t survive.”

This was her advice to those who seek a career in journalism.

“Many friends reached out to me and asked if their daughter/son can talk to me about getting into news/journalism. Also, I give guest lectures to Lycoming College and WAHS; what I tell budding journalism students is to work hard, never give up, be nice/easy to work with, and be reliable. Those four qualities will keep your job. Landing a job is tough; it’s one of the most competitive fields out there. It’s 100 percent about relationships, so use your sparkling, persistent personality to good use.”

As Susan Durrwachter looks to the future, she stated, “The future for me is to continue to work for CNN as long as they’ll have me. I’ve been blessed to be in this business for nearly 20 years.”