Mary Thurston is responsible for providing cross-departmental operational, administrative, and project management support on behalf of the Office of the President. Thurston was awarded a bachelor’s degree in international affairs with a focus on economics from Florida State University and has certifications in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School, Fundraising and Development from University of California, Davis, and Giving 2.0: The MOOC from Stanford University.

In addition to her work with the Alliance, Thurston volunteers as co-chair for PEAK Grantmaking’s Northern California Chapter, a member-led community of philanthropy professionals dedicated to advancing equitable, effective grantmaking practices.  Thurston also volunteers as staff-writer for OurClimate, a national youth-based climate advocacy organization.  Thurston is based in San Francisco, CA and is passionate about discovery science’s impact potential, with particular interest in sustainability endeavors.