Mary Church is the Director of Development for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida, where she fundraises for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. She comes to the University of Florida with non-profit experience having worked at the American Cancer Society where she was instrumental in making the largest nationwide gain in the Good to Great pilot for Making Strides events. As the Assistant Director of Development at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland FL, Mary founded and formed the Women in STEM Summit bringing industry partners and students together, encouraging women to keep going and to never give up. In her current role as Director of Development, she has exceeded expectations engaging alumni and industry partners to be part of the department’s culture by connecting them back to the University in a meaningful way. One way was by creating the W.E. Rise Mentorship Program to bridge the gap with alumni and students.

Mary, a 2005 University of Florida graduate, is an advocate for professional development and maintains a strong leadership role with UF Advancement by being an active participant in the LEAD Essentials and LEAD Master’s Programs as well as a Top Ten Talk speaker with her Department Chair discussing the ways on how to “Run the Experiment” in Fundraising. She holds the 2020-2021 Innovation Staff Award through the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department for her creativity in the Industry Insights Speakers Series through the pandemic to maintain the involvement of the department’s alumni.

Her moto is: “Enjoy the little things in life.”

Awards

• 2022 Years of Service at UF – 5
• 2021 Innovation Staff Award