Mary Ellen Schaafsma

Senior Research Associate

Mary Ellen is an experienced, entrepreneurial leader with a track record of helping social agencies serving a diversity of populations uncover and embed purposeful strategy into their operations. In the past, she managed Community Treatment Homes for adults with chronic, severe mental illnesses - helping them gain independent living skills. She is a successful grant writer and fundraiser, having written five successful grant applications that secured over $12 million total and obtaining more than $150,000 in sponsorships from five different companies. Mary Ellen spent almost eight years at the United Way BC in a variety of roles including Director of Research and Product Development, where she learned best practices in understanding and meeting donor needs, donation fundraising, and donor engagement.