At Home with Democratic Strategist Emily Tisch Sussman

Emily Tisch Sussman, host of the award-winning She Pivots podcast, transformed her Long Island home into a vibrant, playful space reflecting her family’s energy. In our exclusive interview, she Emily shares how she collaborated with designer Alec Holland to blend creative updates with the home’s original charm.

HOMEWORTHY: What is the story behind your home?

EMILY TISCH SUSSMAN: We moved into our home and found our home at the height of COVID in 2020, it was a very chaotic year for me and my family. We had moved back from Washington, DC, back to New York City, where I grew up and found an apartment and lived there for three months until I had my third baby in February of 2020, and all hell broke loose. We ended up moving, renting a house out in Long Island. The house was lovely but it was just a rental and we were living out of Fresh Direct bags. It was chaos, but we loved the community, so we knew we needed to find a house that fit our young family. And you have to remember, this was the COVID 19 pandemic. Everyone was self-isolating and we were all in our own bubbles. But we heard through word of mouth that this gentleman was selling this house we were like, we want it, yes, like, let’s move forward. We basically bought the house, sight unseen, with everything in it, furniture, everything. So we packed up our Fresh Direct bags and moved in. And it only took a couple of months for us to realize that as lovely as the furniture was, it wasn’t our style, and we wanted it to feel like home. So that’s when I reached out to Alec Holland, an old fellow camp counselor from way back in the day. I had followed him on social media and saw that he had pivoted into interior design and I loved his style, so I thought, who better to work with to redecorate the entire home. He was lovely to work with and helped me feel confident that we would create a home that was a true representation of our fun, loud, loving family. So we worked double time to redo the house in just six months and create a space that my children would remember as their childhood home. 

HOMEWORTHY: How would you describe your home decor style?

EMILY: Without a doubt, it is colorful, fun, vibrant and inviting. I’ve always loved color, something that I never shied away from, even when I was a teenager, and I wanted to portray that in my home. Also, as a mom of three young kids, I love to embrace things that feel inspiring and uplifting and playful. My kids have really brought that out of me after working in politics for 10 years, they really teach me every day how to embrace the lighter sides of life, and this home is a real representation of that. 

HOMEWORTHY: Describe what it was like working with your theater camp counselor to design your home. What made the process fun?

EMILY: Well, Alec is a true artist and professional. He always has been, even back in the days when we were doing theater together. So, I was so excited to work with him on this project. He fully embraced some of my crazy ideas and really elevated them to a new level. For example, we did want to utilize some of the pieces that we had originally bought with the house. So I had this idea to redo the very traditional wood dining table. So of course I wanted it to have more color. And we did this incredibly cool, bright lime green shellac on top with a matte royal blue as the base. So I had such a great time working with Alec creatively on this, and it felt like a real reminder of how we used to work together back in our theater days.

HOMEWORTHY: Take us through your professional journey. How did you go from camp counselor to a political strategist and podcast host?

EMILY: For a long time I really did not know what I wanted to be when I “grew up.” I had so many interests. I loved theater, I loved performing, I loved connecting with people as a camp counselor. So naturally, I went to law school, and in law school, I wasn’t ever sure if I really wanted to be a lawyer, but it opened up doors for me and taught me how to think strategically and deeply about things. Then I was introduced to the Obama campaign, and I started working on the campaign, and I fell in love with politics. It felt meaningful. I was carving my own space in it, and the rest was history.

After the 2008 campaign I went on to work for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which successfully repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Young Democrats of America, Swing Left, and the Center for American Progress. I thought that politics was “it” for me. It was what I measured my success against and how I measured my value. I worked on key strategies to resist the Trump Administration’s harmful policies and helped establish a Gun Violence Prevention Network. The work felt fulfilling and I was at the top of my game…and then I had three kids in just four years right at the start of the Trump presidency. I remember being in the studio for an early morning TV hit at 4:30am, trying to pump and then having to go to work afterwards all while dealing with the 24 hour news cycle that was coming out of Washington and I just thought – I can’t sustain this anymore. I wasn’t able to show up for both my family and my job in the way that I wanted, so I stepped away.

Since then it has been a journey of learning to let go of my former idea of success. At times it wasn’t easy and it was the support and stories of other women who had done something similar that got me through. As I kept searching for stories of inspiration I realized that we needed to change the cultural conversation around our careers and it was through these stories that we could move the needle.

Going through my own pivot and building She Pivots, I no longer buy into the “traditional” markers of success anymore for myself (i.e. a promotion, corner office, etc.). The true essence of She Pivots is to prove to women that we can redefine success for ourselves. It might not look the way we originally envisioned, and there may be difficult times, but each of our experiences and decisions build on one another to who we are now – and that is enough.

HOMEWORTHY: What are some of your favorite spots in the house where you find yourself spending the most time?

EMILY: I have three young kids, so I would say we spend the most time in our family room (when it’s not covered with MAGNA-TILES), we sit down for a family movie night and we read every night there before bed. I’ve been reading the Harry Potter books to my oldest son, who loves them. So quite honestly, we spend a lot of time in his bed reading. Another favorite spot of mine has to be the primary bedroom which is also my office. There’s beautiful windows surrounding the desk that let the light shine in. It is truly a beautiful place to work and also to get some peace and quiet from the kiddos ;).

HOMEWORTHY: What did you keep/repurpose from the original style of the home?

EMILY: We kept quite a lot. The house has beautiful, beautiful bones. I mean, the previous owner did such a nice job. The details are immaculate, and we kept all of the finishings. We painted the entire house, but no major renovations happened. We got to put our own twist on an already beautiful home, and we even utilized some of the furniture that we bought with the house, again, adding a little color here and there. There’s a side table in my daughter’s room that we repainted in a hot fuchsia pink shellac. We repurposed a beautiful console that really is our catch all for everything that a family of five could use – Band Aids, sunscreen, flashlights, I think we have basically an entire drawer of band aids. So if anyone needs one, I know exactly where to find it.

HOMEWORTHY: What are three of your favorite items in your home and why?

EMILY: I mean, the dining room table is near to my heart because it was something that I got to design, which was a fun creative outlet for me. The couch in the den is also repurposed from our bedroom in DC. Now the kids use it to sit on, watch Gotham FC and Giants games together and they also make forts all the time. I love that it is both comfortable, beautiful, but not too precious and it brings the family together.

HOMEWORTHY: What do you think makes this house Homeworthy?

EMILY: Going from the chaos of the COVID 19 pandemic to finally, finding a place to call home was such a relief. And you know, even when we moved in, it was a beautiful home, but it wasn’t our home. It was filled with someone else’s furniture that had different stories and memories. So having the opportunity to add in our own pieces to make memories has really made this Homeworthy I think.

And with three kids running around, there’s really no question that this is a home. It’s often covered in toys and art projects and Legos, and although the things that surround them are beautiful and colorful and thoughtful, it’s really how we utilize it that makes it a home. And I love living here. I love raising my kids here.

HOMEWORTHY: What is an exciting project that you’re looking forward to working on in 2025?

EMILY: If I could dream it would be to redo our basement, which would be a pretty large undertaking. Right now, it’s mostly a storage unit as well as a pretty hodgepodge gym. My dream would be to fully redo it and make it a place where my kids’ imaginations could run wild. But if I’m honest with you, with three young kids, I’m not sure that will be happening in 2025. But stay tuned – who knows!

HOMEWORTHY: What is your go to holiday hostess gift?

EMILY: I love to give people Aplõs. It’s an adaptogenic non-alcoholic liqueur that is just delicious and perfect for anyone and any occasion.