Mary Hendra

Mary Hendra has a diverse work experience spanning various roles and industries. In their most recent position as Chief of Staff at Sensate, they focused on creating a generative and scalable organizational culture that prioritized stillness, strategy, and play. Prior to this, they founded their own company called Move with Grace, where they served as CEO/Founder + Facilitator and helped individuals and teams navigate uncertain times through underutilized ways of thinking. Mary also hosted a podcast called "Lead with a Dash of Play" as part of their role at Move with Grace.

Mary has a strong focus on diversity, equity, and belonging, as demonstrated by their work in building trust for systemic change in these areas. Mary also founded and directed the Fellowship program at Making Gay History and worked on short-term projects as a Creator of Learning Environments, where they designed adult learning environments for entrepreneurs and provided strategic planning and recommendations for learning initiatives.

In addition to their entrepreneurial ventures, Mary has held various leadership positions. Mary was the Chief Officer of Innovation and Community-Building + Director for San Diego at California Global Education Project, where they reimagined professional development for educators and created interdisciplinary programs. Mary also held the role of Program Director for LA and Organizational Innovation at Facing History and Ourselves, where they led strategic and operational shifts to expand the organization's impact.

Mary's expertise extends to event planning and board membership, as they served as the Events Chair on the Board of Directors for Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles. Mary also has experience in the education sector, working as an Adjunct Faculty member at Mount Saint Mary's University and Loyola Marymount University, where they taught courses on a range of topics including lesson study processes and curriculum development.

Throughout their career, Mary has demonstrated their ability to build authentic collaborations, bring a human-centered leadership style, and cultivate strong partnerships across various organizations. Mary is known for their entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and open-mindedness.

Mary Hendra has a diverse education history. Mary started their educational journey by earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Government from Claremont McKenna College, where they studied from 1987 to 1991. Mary continued their studies by pursuing a Master of Science (MS) degree in International Public Administration at the University of Southern California from 1992 to 1994. With a growing interest in education, Mary Hendra went on to obtain a Master of Education (M Ed) degree from UCLA, specializing in the field of Education, between 1997 and 1999. In more recent years, they expanded their knowledge by completing a Certificate of Corporate Social Responsibility program at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in 2020, followed by the completion of Seth Godin's altMBA in 2021.