Mary Harvey
Mary Harvey is an accomplished and innovative sport and nonprofit executive with 20 years of leading worldwide initiatives to achieve societal change and gender equity in and through sports.
Mary’s initiatives have been implemented globally, having sustained impact on the empowerment of girls and women, inclusion of marginalised groups, prevention of harassment and abuse, protection and advancement of rights and stewardship of the environment.
Current work
Mary has been the Chief Executive of the Geneva-based Centre for Sport and Human Rights since January 2019. As Chief Executive, Mary leads the Centre team in the fulfilment of the Centre’s vision, oversees the implementation of its strategy, and fosters effective dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders in the sport ecosystem, including governments, sponsors, broadcasters, sport governing bodies, sporting event organisers, employers, worker representatives, and civil society. The Centre has done groundbreaking work in sport and human rights, including providing real-time human rights due diligence at mega-sporting events (2022 FWC Qatar), trained event volunteers on identifying human rights-related risks (2024 Paris, 2024 Euro), and developing guidance for effective responses to abuse in sport (Roadmap to Remedy).
Previous experience
Prior to joining the Centre, Mary led the development of the human rights strategy for the successful United Bid to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to North America. Mary spent the first part of her career in the financial services and management consulting sectors, before moving into sport administration, holding senior management positions at FIFA and Women’s Professional Soccer. In 2012, Mary launched and led Ripple Effect Consulting, providing management, operational and governance-related guidance to social impact organisations.
A lifelong athlete, Mary enjoyed an 8-year career with the US Women’s National Soccer Team, winning the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 and Olympic Gold in 1996. Her successful career earned her induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2025 and the Werner Fricker Builder Award from US Soccer in 2016 for her contribution to the Federation.
Mary holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and a BS in business administration from the Haas School at UC Berkeley.
