Mary Budd
President
Mary Aselton Budd joined Starboard Leadership Consulting as managing director in 2018 and has served as president since 2022. Known for her energetic and insightful approach, Mary has successfully spearheaded numerous executive searches, cementing her reputation as a highly effective consulting partner for nonprofit organizations in leadership transitions. Her expertise extends to strategic planning, culture building and communications, and board and staff training; and she is a certified facilitator in the “Everything DiSC® leadership development model. Mary approaches every project with curiosity, listening between the lines to help identify the core issues and support sustainable growth.
Prior to joining Starboard, Mary led Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor for seven years, first as Board President and then as Executive Director. In these roles, she developed and executed a bold strategic plan that revitalized the nonprofit regional theatre. Her leadership was instrumental in achieving financial stability, programmatic growth, expanding audience reach, and implementing significant capital improvements. Mary’s earlier career was rooted in the education reform sector. She consulted with organizations nationwide working to support teachers and close the achievement gap, including EdisonLearning, Ascend Learning, Leeds Global Partners and the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Mary began her journey as a political appointee in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington and later served as a senior aide for Massachusetts Governor William Weld.
A dedicated community advocate, Mary contributed five years to the City of Bangor Commission on Cultural Development, including two years as its chair, and she was previously elected to the Bangor School Committee. Mary grew up in Downeast Maine and graduated from Dartmouth College. She is an avid reader, enthusiastic skier, and slow runner. She feels lucky to be living in the Golden Age of Television and still thinks dinner and a movie is a great date night. She and her husband love to travel and they have three interesting adult children.