Heather Susan Fenton is an Australian-born business executive and management consultant who built a career in Atlanta through corporate leadership, consulting, and civic service. She led The Fenton Group, helped found NewPowerPAC to support women candidates in Georgia, and has served on boards concerned with refugee assistance, international affairs, and community development.
Background
Heather Susan Fenton was born on November 30, 1948, in Sydney, Australia. She moved to the United States in 1967 and established her professional life in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the daughter of Thomas John Fenton and Alma Sophia Doig Young.
Fenton's later civic work reflected both her international background and her long residence in Georgia. Public profiles describe her as Australian-born and educated overseas, with interests that include women's political participation, refugee resettlement, international business, and community service.
Education
Fenton completed business studies at the Nassis Institute in Athens in 1966. She later became an International Business Fellow at London Business School in 1988, an international management program through which business leaders developed professional networks and comparative understanding of global commerce.
Her education preceded a career that combined corporate administration with management consulting and independent executive work. The international character of her training corresponded with the cross-border business and civic organizations in which she later participated.
Career
Fenton began her Atlanta corporate career as an assistant vice president of A.M. Diversified Corporation from 1972 to 1975. She then became a partner in Deeley/Fenton & Associates, a career and management consulting firm, where she worked from 1975 to 1988. The firm was documented in Atlanta’s civic and business press as a consultancy associated with career guidance and women's professional advancement.
In 1988 Fenton founded and became president and owner of The Fenton Group, a management consulting company. She led the company until her retirement, drawing on experience in strategic planning, fundraising, lobbying, and organizational consulting. Her work connected private-sector management with later pro bono and civic assignments.
After retiring from The Fenton Group, Fenton continued participating in nonprofit and public-interest initiatives. She co-founded NewPowerPAC, a nonpartisan Georgia political action committee formed to support qualified women seeking local office, and served in advisory and board capacities for organizations concerned with refugee services, international business, humanitarian assistance, and community development.
Achievements
Fenton co-founded NewPowerPAC, a nonpartisan Georgia political action committee established to support and elect qualified women to local public office across the state.
Fenton was one of only two women selected as International Business Fellows in 1988, an honor associated with her participation in international business leadership and education.
Views
Fenton's documented civic work reflects a commitment to expanding women's participation in public life, supporting immigrant and refugee communities, and applying business experience to nonprofit and community purposes. Her co-founding of a nonpartisan political action committee focused on women candidates indicates support for broader representation across local government rather than identification with a single political party.
Membership
Fenton's organizational participation has included professional, civic, humanitarian, and advisory bodies. She was a fellow, vice president, and director of the Society of International Business Fellows, an organization linking business leaders engaged in international commerce.
Her civic affiliations included advisory and board service with Cooperative American Relief Everywhere, INROADS Atlanta, the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network, the North Carolina Outward Bound School, and other community organizations. She also participated in the International Customer Service Association, the Australia American Chamber of Commerce, and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals.
Served as vice chair of the advisory board.
Cooperative American Relief Everywhere
,
United States
Served as a director.
INROADS Atlanta, Inc.
,
United States
1980
Served as a director.
SPL Audience, Inc.
,
United States
1980 - 1991
Served as vice president from 1989 to 1990 and as a director from 1990.
Society of International Business Fellows
,
United States
1989
Participated as a member.
International Customer Service Association
,
United States
Participated as a member.
Australia American Chamber of Commerce
,
United States
Participated as a member.
Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals
,
United States
Served in an advisory board capacity.
North Carolina Outward Bound School
,
United States
Co-founder.
NewPowerPAC
,
United States
2013
Served on the advisory board.
Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network
,
United States
2018
Interests
Hiking, travel, scuba diving, historic preservation, theater, women's political participation, refugee assistance, and community service.
Connections
Fenton married Richard Martin Ossoff and has one child, Thomas Jonathan Ossoff. Her son, Jon Ossoff, became a journalist and later served as a United States senator from Georgia.
Her parents were Thomas John Fenton and Alma Sophia Doig Young. Fenton's family connections span Australia and the United States, reflecting her migration to the United States and her subsequent public and professional life in Georgia.
Father:
Thomas John Fenton
Mother:
Alma Sophia Doig Young
Son:
Thomas Jonathan Ossoff
Serves as the senior United States senator from Georgia.
husband:
Richard Martin Ossoff
References
NewPowerPAC, Our Team
Documents Fenton's role as a co-founder of NewPowerPAC and the organization's nonpartisan work to support and elect women in Georgia.
HerWILL, Heather Fenton
Describes Fenton's leadership of The Fenton Group, management consulting background, international business fellowship, civic boards, and post-retirement pro bono work.
