Mary Rodriguez is Vice President of People for PJMF. Mary is responsible for attracting, retaining, and developing talent to advance our mission of advancing AI and digital technology for good. An experienced strategic leader, facilitator,  learning specialist, and diversity guru, she’s determined to make a living by making a difference.

The common thread in Rodriguez’s work across academia, for-profit, and the nonprofit industry is her focus on broadening untraditional HR strategies so more workplaces build innovative and equitable cultures where all employees thrive.

With over 15 years of leadership experience in delivering strength-based people solutions, Mary has championed inclusive workplaces and mastered the art of agility with purpose. Mary joined PJMF from the Clean Energy Buyers Association, where she served as a human resources leader focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Prior to CEBA, Mary spent a decade in various leadership and human resources roles at BakerRipley, Texas’ largest nonprofit, ranked in the top 1% of nonprofits in the country. Mary also led as a thought partner in DEI and Client Engagement at DiversityEDU, a research-based DEI tech start-up. 

Mary’s labor of love is reflected in the role of Corporate Fellow at the University of Houston Downtown, where she leads courses for MBA students in Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, and HR Strategy. Rodriguez’s passions include social justice for marginalized populations. For two years, Rodriguez studied immigrant and refugee migration patterns to Houston at the local refugee home Casa Juan Diego. Before joining the team at BakerRipley, Mary served as an Executive Team Member at the University of Houston Downtown.

Mary holds a bachelor of science degree in Sociology from the University of Houston Downtown and a master of business administration from Texas Woman’s University. 

Of the many roles Mary has mastered, the one she will never perfect is motherhood. Mary is fortunate to be loved by two exceptional children and her three pups, who live in Houston, Texas. 

A quote Mary lives by: “I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops” – Stephen Jay Gould