Services          About          Clients          Sample Reports          Testimonials          Contact About Mary (continued) – Driven by a desire to make a positive impact, Mary has expertise in capacity-building for both small and large nonprofit organizations that employ strategies rooted in social justice. With a B.A. in psychology from Haverford College, Mary was accepted into Teach for America, an organization that places outstanding college graduates into schools with chronic teacher shortages. This experience directed her career toward strengthening the impact of community-based efforts that serve families living in poverty. As a senior director during the start-up of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, she created and managed systems of capacity-building to over five hundred grantees, including school districts, law enforcement agencies and community-based agencies working to prevent violence. While earning a M.A. in Community and Prevention Research from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Mary provided program evaluation support, staff training and project management to nonprofit organizations, schools and university-based prevention projects. Since founding MEMconsultants, Mary has directly served over forty nonprofit organizations and their partners in the areas of program evaluation, strategic planning and organizational capacity building.   In addition to consulting, Mary is a passionate advocate for primate welfare and conservation. She has volunteered with gorillas and orangutans at National Zoo in Washington, DC and Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA, and is the Past President of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest's Board of Directors. As a freelance writer, Mary combines her 15 years professional expertise in the nonprofit, mission-based sector with her passion for story-telling to create compelling, informative pieces that entertain and move the reader. Mary also serves on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Development Officers Association.   Professional Affiliations: Solutions For Good, American Evaluation Association, Northwest Development Officers Association.