People

Mary brings a wide-ranging background in nonprofit fundraising and a complementary perspective to Commonweal’s multifaceted support of visionary people and emergent programs worldwide. Her career path weaves through sectors of human potential, higher education, community philanthropy, conservation, and the performing arts.

Before joining Commonweal in 2025, Mary served as Director of Development at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where she cultivated support for the institute's mission in human potential and transformative education, primarily by building a robust scholarship fund and partnering with the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County on reconciliation initiatives. Her work at Esalen connected her with holistic approaches to personal growth and healing—themes that align with Commonweal's integrative programs and retreat center offerings.

At Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, Mary served as Director of Advancement and Marketing Communications for the 133-year old institution, the first in the United States to fully integrate an environmental focus with its liberal arts curriculum. As Director of the Apostle Islands and Chequamegon Bay Area Community Funds at the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, Mary expanded her experience in community philanthropy, championing place-based giving initiatives and bioregional priorities.

Her conservation background includes service as Director of Advancement at Landmark Conservancy, Wisconsin’s biggest land trust. There, she led fundraising efforts for land preservation and public access projects across the state’s western landscape. This work fostered an appreciation for the connection between environmental stewardship and community well-being—a perspective shared across Commonweal's initiatives related to land and people.

A lover of the performing and visual arts, Mary worked as Development Director at Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua, supporting cultural programming that celebrates the unique heritage of the Chequamegon Bay region. In 2012, Mary founded and curated the Madeline Island Summer Film Series, adding outdoor music and film experiences to the blend of artistic offerings in her beloved home community.

Throughout her career, Mary has focused on building authentic relationships based on mutual trust in support of meaningful work. At Commonweal, Mary has found a professional home that accommodates her varied experience and inspires a sense of continued possibility. She has found kindred spirits within this "flexible instrument of human service," responding to ever-emerging challenges, while greeting new frontiers at the intersection of healing, resilience, and justice.