Our Staff

Maura McCarthy joined the Fairmount Park Conservancy team in November 2019. In her role as Chief Executive Officer, Maura is responsible for overseeing a staff of 33 employees leading capital projects, community programming, volunteer efforts, and land management across key sites throughout Philadelphia’s 10,200 acres of parks. Under Maura’s leadership, the Conservancy works closely with the City of Philadelphia, partners, stakeholders, funders, community leaders, and residents to steward our parks and nurture our shared environment, cultural resources, and public health.

Prior to joining the Conservancy, Maura spent 13 years as the Executive Director of Friends of the Wissahickon, Philadelphia’s only professionally staffed Park Friends Group, harnessing over 10,000 hours of volunteer engagement each year to support a National Recreation Trail and an 1,800-acre National Natural Landmark. A native to the Philadelphia region, Maura holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University. She also received a Certificate in Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.