Resource Development Officer
Mary Ellen is the MIT D-Lab Resource Development Officer. She is focused on increasing the financial sustainability of D-Lab by leading and supporting proposals and proposal teams; identifying, cultivating, and stewarding individual and institutional donors; and strengthening fundraising processes at D-Lab. Mary Ellen sees her role in D-Lab as the perfect intersection of her three-decade career in international development, international agriculture, and higher education fundraising with individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments.
Mary Ellen has extensive experience throughout South and Central America, especially in Peru and Honduras, as well as in East Africa, Thailand, and Jordan, where lived as a teen. She worked at the World Bank, CGIAR, TechnoServe, Zamorano, and Harvard University and has consulted for USAID, Junior Achievement Worldwide, and Laspau. Her passion is empowering others to realize their dreams, especially in the field of international development and agriculture.
She holds an MPS in International Agriculture/Rural Development from Cornell University and a BA in International Studies from Mary Washington College.