As chief development officer, Laurie Marden oversees UCS fundraising efforts, including the organization’s work with foundations, members, and major donors. She works to build and deepen the connections with UCS’s financial supporters to keep the organization healthy and sustain its work.
Prior to joining UCS, Ms. Marden worked for eight years at the environmental organization Earthjustice, first as a development officer and later as director of major gifts where she was instrumental in doubling the organization’s income from that program. Before that, she held development positions at Harvard Law School and the California-based NatureBridge, a nonprofit connecting youth to the science in nature with campuses in Marin Headlands, Yosemite and Olympic National Parks. She holds a bachelor of science degree in Global Studies from Lesley College, with minors in Intercultural Communication and Non-profit Management.
With more than a decade of development leadership experience before coming to UCS, Ms. Marden notes that she was a UCS member and donor long before she joined the staff, drawn to the organization’s mission to use science to build a safer and more sustainable world. She sees her role as connecting individuals with initiatives that allow them express their values to support evidence-based decisionmaking and solutions to create a healthy, prosperous future.