Mary Theroux is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Institute, a nonprofit public policy research and educational organization that shapes ideas into profound and lasting impact through publications, conferences, and multimedia programs.

In addition, Mary is Managing Director of Lightning Ventures, L.P., a San Francisco Bay Area investment firm, and Vice President of the C.S. Lewis Society of California. She has previously served as a director of nine corporations and three foundations, and was Chairman of Garvey International, Inc., and Cofounder, President, and CEO of San Francisco Grocery Express. She is former Chairman and current member of the Advisory Board for San Francisco Salvation Army and also serves on the National Advisory Board of The Salvation Army.

Mary’s op-eds and articles have appeared in Forbes, Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner, among others. She is a coauthor of Beyond Homeless: Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Transformative Solutions, and produced the accompanying documentary, Beyond Homeless: Finding Hope.