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Mary Blair joined GG+A in 2009 with more than 25 years' experience in fundraising for academic institutions. Based in London, she will lend her expertise to the firm's work with higher education and academic health care institutions.
Mary most recently served as Director of Development and Alumni Relations for the London School of Economics (LSE). During her nine year tenure, she headed a campaign for £100 million, the first campaign in the UK to set and achieve a target of that magnitude. Mary was responsible for an original staff of 18 (which grew to 34), inaugurated an Alumni Association that serves more than 90,000 LSE alumni in over 120 countries, and oversaw the LSE office in New York. She is regarded as one of the leading directors of development in the UK.
Mary is committed to the advancement of the UK and European fundraising profession, exemplified by her service in 2003 on the task force for promoting philanthropy among higher education institutions. This task force, which produced The Thomas Report, had great influence on the way universities managed their fundraising and led to the introduction of matched giving schemes in England by the UK government.
Mary continued her committment to the profession through her chairmanship of The Ross Group, a network of development leaders in UK research institutions. As chairman she championed the ROSS-CASE survey, the only national instrument for measuring fundraising performance in higher education in the UK. She also has served as a trustee of CASE Europe. This work has only served to enhance her already strong national profile in the UK.
Prior to arriving in the UK in 2000, Mary spent 15 years with The Johns Hopkins University, first working with the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine before assuming the position of Executive Director for Divisional and Regional Programs, where she coordinated the fundraising efforts of eight divisions of the University and two regional offices. Later Mary served as Executive Director for Individual Giving and Institutional Programs and was responsible for the Research, Annual Fund, Communications, Operations, and Planned Giving offices.
Mary holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in English and American Studies.