Dr. Mary Dakin

Mary Dakin grew up in Portland, Oregon and has over 20 years of experience in higher education management, education and workforce development leadership. Her work experience spans a healthcare non-profit, a multinational engineering firm, and 6 higher ed institutions, including 3 major research universities, liberal arts colleges, a state university and a community college. Dr. Dakin has lived, worked and conducted research in the USSR, Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan. She is currently engaged in workforce development programs in the senior care industry, following three years managing grants for career and technical education at secondary school level. In her career in academia, she engaged in research project management, public outreach programming, financial and operations management, program direction, and research in political policy, technology and non-profit sectors.

Dr. Dakin’s professional experience includes 12 years at Stanford University directing public-facing programming-based initiatives, first in Russian & East European Studies, then in the arts. She served as managing director of a start-up Arts Institute as part of a 5-year campus-wide arts initiative. At the Bosch Corporate Research Division in Silicon Valley Dr. Dakin managed research granting partnerships with university researchers in alternative energy technologies and held leadership and programming roles in DEI and Corporate Social Responsibility. In addition, she teaches the occasional political science course at Portland Community College.

Dr. Dakin has also served on non-profit executive boards, volunteered extensively in the community, and has a strong record of university institutional service.