As Executive Director of Business Development, Communications, and Finance, Mary Jo Dunnington serves on The Leadership Academy’s Executive Leadership Cabinet and is responsible for the teams leading sales strategy and client cultivation, communications and marketing, and finance. Her work aligns mission and resources, bridging external growth strategies with internal financial stewardship, to ensure the organization is offering services that meet the evolving needs of education leaders across the country. With a focus on fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability, she also manages budgeting, financial planning, and oversees accounting systems.
Mary Jo first joined the organization in 2011 as Vice President of National Initiatives, a role where she was tasked with growing The Leadership Academy’s footprint from its New York City origins. She helped expand the organization’s work into 20 new states, and to transform into a national provider of high-quality professional learning and coaching. Her connection to the organization began well before she was a member of the team: she was previously the Chief Operating Officer for the Partnership for New York City, which led the initial fundraising campaign that helped to launch The Leadership Academy.
Her leadership experience in education includes time as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit that provided training and tools for educators based on the unique ways that people learn. In her early career she developed and implemented teacher training and outreach programs and facilitated the development of teacher leadership networks for the National Geographic Society. She’s also served a mentor to students at the Young Women’s Leadership School in Harlem and the Higher Achievement Program in Washington, D.C.
Mary Jo holds a Master of Arts in Education and a Master of Business Administration, both from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also earned a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University. Mary Jo is based in Durham, North Carolina.
