Raised with three siblings in Ville Saint-Laurent, Susan Stern attended Sir Winston Churchill High School, graduating in 1973. Her life-long love of music led to related studies and a career in music education. A second career saw her build and run some well-known Montreal eateries, including Bistro Westmount and Sternz Rhapsody in the Cavendish Mall. Twenty-one years ago, Stern embarked on her third career as the national executive director and CEO of Weizmann Canada, a registered charity and philanthropic arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. The Suburban recently spoke with the Westmount resident. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.