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About the Marion Institute

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Margherita Baldwin, Co-Founder and President

Along with her husband, Michael Baldwin, Margie co-founded the Marion Institute. With a desire to support and restore local farming in their community, Margie started the store How on Earth in Mattapoisett. The goal of the store is to educate others in the community about the benefits of organic foods that are produced from nearby farms.

Margie has been leading this charge since 2009 and is an active member of several town organizations.

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Michael Baldwin, Co-Founder 

After previously working at Morgan Guaranty, Michael Baldwin founded Baldwin Brothers in 1974. In addition to his duties as President of Baldwin Brothers, Michael is also a trustee of the Nathaniel Saltonstall Arts Fund and The Garfield Foundation.  Michael has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

“I am passionate about the Marion Institute because of the leading edge initiatives it undertakes with extraordinary discernment that generate the positive and effective change so desperately needed throughout the world today. These initiatives are practical, get to the root causes of problems, and offer wise and oftentimes simple solutions.

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Mike Delmonico

Mike is a healthcare and medical practice consultant with more than 30 years’ experience working with integrated healthcare systems and multi-specialty medical practices to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of healthcare delivery. He help his clients to achieve success through the development of strong teams with a shared sense of accomplishment and accountability.

Mike’s bachelor’s degree in nursing is from the University of Connecticut and his master’s degree in business administration is from the University of Rhode Island. He has earned a project management certificate from Bryant University and he is a certified medical practice executive as awarded by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Mike has a personal and professional focus on the experience of patients and healthcare professionals, and the importance of creating access to healthy and therapeutic care environments. Mike is a founding board member of the Nursing Foundation of Rhode Island.

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John Mannix, Treasurer 

John is the CEO of Baldwin Brothers, responsible for overall leadership and strategic direction for the firm. John has been in the financial services industry for over twenty-five years in executive roles with leading wealth and asset management firms. John is also currently serving on the Board of Nativity Preparatory School. He is a graduate of Syracuse University.

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Leigh Keyser Phillips

Leigh Keyser Phillips joins the Marion Institute Board of Directors with over 35 years of law experience in the region of Burlington, VT. Her work has focused on corporate, estate planning and administration, nonprofit organizational structure and governance, and real estate matters.

Leigh attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied and received her degree in International Relations. After working for a prominent Philadelphia law firm for a year upon graduation, she attended the Villanova University School of Law, where she served on the board of its Delaware County Legal Aid Program.

In her corporate practice, Leigh worked with and advised clients on business organizational matters, including formation, dissolution, purchase and sale of Vermont business enterprises, as well as contract, employment, financing and real estate matters. She also worked with many nonprofit organizations, providing advice on formation, obtaining federal tax-exempt status and on-going governance issues. In her estate planning practice, she worked with and advised individuals and families on options to achieve their estate planning goals, as well as probate and trust administration, elder law and guardianship matters.

Kerry Saltonstall

Kerry Saltonstall is a 30-year veteran of the K-12 independent school advancement community. Retired in 2020, she worked in fundraising, strategic planning, volunteer recruitment and management, and board development early in her career at Moses Brown School and The Gordon School in Providence where she served as Director of Development. Over the last 20 years of her professional career, Kerry held the positions of Associate Director of Development, Director of Alumni Relations, and later Director of Communications for Tabor Academy in Marion. A results oriented team-builder, well aware of how community-building drives non-profit success, Kerry is eager to apply her experience to advance our mission and build our network.

Kerry holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) and is currently working as a freelance writer, and Director of Marketing at Saltonstall Architects in Marion.

Jamey Shachoy

Jamey Shachoy is a volunteer, director, and independent corporate advisor. He worked as Accenture’s Chief Tax Officer and held various finance leadership roles with the company. Before Accenture, Jamey worked for a global accounting firm advising clients in the technology industry. He is a lawyer and a CPA.

Jamey has been active in professional and tax policy organizations and has taught as a visiting professor in international tax. He is a Trustee Emeritus of the Zeiterion Theater and currently serves as Board Chair for Oxfam America.

Jamey and Laura Ryan have three children. They enjoy playing on the sea and in the mountains.

Joan Tiffany, Clerk

Joan is the Senior Director of the International Honors Program (IHP), a comparative global study abroad program for undergraduates founded in 1958 to address timely issues with overarching themes relating to the environment and social justice. Students study with a faculty team, live in homestays, meet with experts in the field and local activists during one and two semester programs in three to five contrasting countries. IHP is a rigorous academic program. Thematic areas of study include globalization, urban issues and public health. IHP is a program of World Learning.

Joan has been a Board Member of the Marion Institute since 2006. Her interests are in the arts, international environmental and social justice issues and the impact of individuals and community leaders to make a difference in creating change. In addition to IHP and the Marion Institute, Joan has been involved with the Museum of Fine Arts, United South End Settlements and First Night, a community New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts started in Boston.

Orson Watson, Ph.D.

Orson Watson is a Boston-based philanthropic advisor specializing in urban economic and workforce development. In addition to working with several foundation clients, he is the Advisor for Community Revitalization Programs at the Garfield Foundation and is on the Board of the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. From 1999 to 2002, Orson was Vice President for Research and Strategy at Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) where he led several projects related to the expansion of business and employment opportunities in low-income urban communities. Prior to joining ICIC, Orson was a Fellow at the Batten Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Darden School of Business Administration, and worked for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Marsh and McLennan in Saudi Arabia. A native of New York City, Orson holds an AB from Vassar College, and a MA and Ph.D. in International Political Economy from the University of Virginia.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Christina Bascom
Nonie Brady
John Burt
Johnnie Chace
Mark Finser
Sally Hunsdorfer
Robert Inches
Krystyna Jurzykowski
Elizabeth Oates
Claude Pepin
Patricia Sullivan
Robert Unger
Ryan Wagner
Greg Watson

In Memoriam: Wangari Maathai (1940 – 2011)

In 1999, the Marion Institute became Wangari’s representative and partner with the Green Belt Movement in the United States – and has advocated for and raised funds for the Green Belt Movement. Maathai served on the Marion Institute Advisory Board and was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, an environmentalist, a civil society and women’s rights activist, and a former parliamentarian. The Green Belt Movement is one of the most prominent women’s civil society organizations, based in Kenya, advocating for human rights and supporting good governance and peaceful democratic change through the protection of the environment. Its mission is to empower communities worldwide to protect the environment and to promote good governance and cultures of peace.

In Memoriam: Bokara Legendre (1940 – 2017)

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