Our Staff

Maura joined Fairmount Park Conservancy as its Executive Director in November of 2019 and oversees a staff of 29 employees who are leading community programming, capital projects and land management across key sites throughout Philadelphia’s 10,200 acres of parks.

For the 13 years prior, Maura was 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, McCarthy has a strong record of public service. She currently serves on the Green City, Clean Waters Steering Committee for Philadelphia Water Department and was a member of Mayor Jim Kenney’s Transition Team on Environment & Sustainability.

She 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.