Mary works extensively with boards, leaders and faculty as a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Education & Social Impact Practice to help them recruit and assess senior leaders, including presidents, CEOs and heads of schools. She has helped the nation’s preeminent educational institutions navigate significant leadership transitions. Her work encompasses liberal arts colleges, research universities, independent schools and large, mission-driven nonprofit organizations, as well as functional roles such as chief financial officers and chief operating officers. She collaborates with colleagues from various disciplines and partners with multi-stakeholder search committees, enabling all constituents to be heard.

Expertise

Mary has specialized experience in:

  • Presidents for colleges and universities
  • Heads of independent schools
  • Presidents of nonprofit organizations
  • CFOs, COOs and other senior members of the leadership team
  • Leadership assessment
  • Organizational culture

 

Recent work

  • Recruiting and assessing presidents and heads of schools for the world’s top schools and universities from Shanghai to Honolulu, and the Pacific Northwest to New England
  • Advising leading colleges, universities and independent schools on the right leadership to help them preserve their profound histories while helping them evolve in a changing educational environment
  • Leading executive searches for CFOs and COOs for a broad range of nonprofits

Previous experience

  • Associate provost and executive officer at Dartmouth College for eight years
  • Director of financial planning at Phillips Exeter Academy for 13 years

Education

  • M.B.A., Yale University, School of Management
  • B.A. in French from Middlebury College

Practice Areas