Mary E. Wallenfang

Mary Wallenfang brings extensive experience that spans the corporate and nonprofit sectors, internal and external communications disciplines, and domestic and international borders. She currently co-leads the firm’s sustainability practice area and strategic partnership with BeDo Spring, helping clients create a competitive advantage by looking at sustainability in its broadest sense, aligning their business around it, and engaging their entire enterprise to deliver upon it.

Mary re-joined Gagen MacDonald in 2008 after working for several years in the nonprofit sector. She most recently led the communications function at the London headquarters of International Alert, the UK’s leading peace-building charity which operates in more than 20 countries globally. While there Mary established a communications department to support a new organizational strategy to diversify its funding base. She was responsible for developing strategies for communicating to diverse audience groups ranging from policy-makers to the general public. In this role Mary also provided communications support and training for offices in Sri Lanka, Nepal, DR Congo and Liberia and helped develop a multi-pronged strategy with government, donors and media in response to a media crisis that jeopardized IA’s operations in Sri Lanka. Prior to her work at Alert, Mary further expanded her global view in Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala where she addressed issues such as banana workers’ rights, indigenous ecological forest preservation, and social support for young single mothers.

At Gagen MacDonald from 2000-2004, Mary worked with International Truck & Engine Corporation to develop new ways to focus and motivate employees in operations. This included managing the rollout of a new business strategy with a multi-tiered communication and business education program. She also helped to improve the relationship between the manufacturer and its network of independent dealerships by aligning leadership around a new strategy, developing a communications infrastructure to implement a new IT system and executing a national dealer meeting. She was part of an award-winning program to align executive leadership around a new brand delivery to customers through a series of sales events that achieved 300 percent higher sales goals than targeted. During her first tenure with Gagen MacDonald, Mary also supported Seyfarth Shaw LLP and United Airlines.

Mary began her career in external communications where she developed publicity programs for clients including: American Family Insurance, American Plastics Council, International Truck & Engine Corporation, Institute of Real Estate Management, MCI WorldCom, Propane Gas Association, and UOP.

Education:
Marquette University, B.A., Public Relations and Marketing
University of Surrey-Roehampton, England, M.A., International Service & NGO Management
The Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico, Mexican Studies