As the Individual Giving Manager, Mary leads Lwala's development work with individual supporters, many of whom have been engaged with Lwala's growth since before the first bricks were laid at Lwala Community Hospital 15 years ago. Mary's passion for the organization is grounded in a firm understanding that you can't address global health without addressing poverty, policy, agricultural practices, village infrastructure, education, water safety and accessibility, and gender roles. She loves sharing news about Lwala's community-led health model (that functions much like an ecosystem) with veteran supporters as well as newcomers, igniting a sense of deeply meaningful reciprocity between Kenyans and Americans. Mary is relatively new to the nonprofit and development world, having forged a very alternative career path prior to joining Lwala that was comprised of teaching, event planning, coaching and leading ceremonies, and working in the restaurant industry while pursuing a singer/songwriter career in New York City, as well as several years as a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom of three. Recently, in celebration of Lwala's 15-year anniversary, her team launched a Hospital Endowment Campaign that aims to create financial autonomy for the Lwala Community Hospital while simultaneously supporting a burgeoning world movement of Black-led initiatives that aims to transfer power and ownership back to the Kenyan communities we work with and serve.
