Marianne McPherson, PhD, MS has spent more than two decades helping organizations, coalitions, and investors connect to what matters most, and then translate that grounding into strategy, practice, and measurable outcomes. 

Her work recognizes that bold ideas become real change only when they're grounded in values, guided by evidence, and led with genuine care with and for the people involved.

That recognition has shaped her work leading global health initiatives — including 100 Million Healthier Lives, which reached more than 500 million people across 30 countries — and her consulting work with philanthropies, nonprofits, and impact investors navigating complexity and seeking to do more with their resources. 

Marianne is known for strategically navigating uncertainty while keeping relationships and process at the forefront.  She is passionate about purpose-driven work and committed to structural analysis to address systems of oppression and advance equity, not as add-ons, but as central to how good strategy and evaluation actually work.

A thoughtful teacher and coach, including as former teaching faculty for the IHI Improvement Coach Professional Development Program, she brings a genuine, humble, and caring approach to every engagement, fostering the kind of collaborative environments where hard work and joyful teamwork aren't opposites.

She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a master's in public health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her work has been funded by the CDC, state government agencies, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.  She has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and delivered nearly 60 field-facing presentations and serves on the board of Boston’s Neighborhood Birth Center.