Room to Read Announces New Board of Directors Chair

San Francisco – March 12, 2020 – Room to Read announced today the appointment of Mary Byron as Chair of the organization’s global Board of Directors. 

 “As a longtime investor and advisor of Room to Read, Mary brings extensive knowledge of our programs and invaluable business perspective,” said Dr. Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read. “Her appointment will strengthen our organization as we plan for our next phase of growth through our strategic plan, Vision 2025, and is indicative of Room to Read’s organizational commitment to gender equality in the most senior leadership positions.” 

 Mary Byron is currently the owner of Cloud Nine Quilts based in Montana. Mary is retired from Goldman Sachs, most recently as the global head of corporate technology including Finance, Risk, Operations and Human Resources at Goldman Sachs. She served on the Technology Division Executive, Operating and Risk Committees. Prior to this role, Mary was based in Tokyo as CIO for Asia Pacific businesses and co-chair of the Asia Pacific Diversity Committee. She joined Goldman Sachs in 1989 and has held various roles within technology, including managing the firm’s global networks and computing infrastructure. Mary was named managing director in 1999 and partner in 2006. She has served on Room to Read’s Board of Directors since 2015 and serves on the Board of Directors for the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation as well as the Auburn Theological Seminary. Mary earned her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 1986. 

 “The privilege of joining Room to Read’s leadership team as Board Chair comes at a pivotal time in the organization’s journey, as we set our sights on quadrupling our reach in the next five years and delivering positive outcomes for children at scale,” said Byron. “Through my trips to witness the impact of Room to Read’s programs firsthand in India and Vietnam, I have seen that the answers to the world’s greatest challenges all start with education, and Room to Read has proven solutions.” 

 John Ridding, who has served as Board Chair since 2018 will remain a member of the board and Yusuf Alireza will serve as Chair-Elect. A full listing of Room to Read’s board of directors can be found here.   

About Room to Read

Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read is creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. We are achieving this goal by helping children in low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls to build skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions. We collaborate with governments and other partner organizations to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale. Room to Read has benefited more than 18 million children across 16 countries and 39,000 communities and aims to reach 40 million children by 2025. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.