Mary Grech

Director of Impact

Mary began her career as an elementary school teacher in Dayton, Ohio where she worked with students to strengthen their early literacy skills. Her time in the classroom further developed her passion for improving educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds and for connecting practitioners’ expertise to the policy design process.  

Since moving back to her home state of Michigan, Mary has spent the last decade advocating for education policy changes that prioritize research-backed strategies and expand resources for the students and schools with the greatest needs. Most recently serving as Chief of Staff at The Education Trust-Midwest, Mary led strategic projects across all areas of the organization's work to increase the impact of the organization and ensure mission alignment. Mary's policy expertise and strong project management supported the organization and its partners in advancing legislation on statewide equity issues, most notably helping to secure the Opportunity Index which targets funding to Michigan districts with high concentrations of poverty. 

Committed to bridging the gap between policy and practice, Mary also led several of the organization’s partnerships with educators including launching a policy fellowship with Teach Plus, leading evaluation and reporting for EdTrust's school-based teacher leadership work in West Michigan, and developing trainings for educators and parents about evidence-based literacy instruction. 

In all of her work, Mary brings a commitment to building the relationships and community that make lasting change possible — a commitment reflected in her continued involvement with alumni networks for Teach For America and Harvard Alumni for Education, where she serves as an Alumni Admissions Ambassador and the Detroit-based leader of the Harvard Alumni for Education. 

Credentials

• BA Anthropology, College of William & Mary

• M.Ed. Education Policy and Management, Harvard Graduate School of Education