MARINA WALNE

Director, Galveston Program

Marina Ballantyne Walne, Ph.D., is director of the Galveston Program at the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation and CEO of EduStart LLC, a consulting practice specializing in start-up education and philanthropy ventures.

At CGMF, she leads the foundation's place-based philanthropy initiatives in Galveston. She assumed this role after nine years of consulting work developing and implementing the foundation's Galveston strategy. Before joining CGMF, she served as vice president for education at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

Walne brings over 35 years of education experience to her role. She served as executive director of the Institute for Public School Initiatives at The University of Texas System, director of admissions at Rice University, and founding head of The John Cooper School, now ranked the number two independent school in the Houston area. She has supported the development of eight other schools, including The University of Texas Elementary School.

As a consultant to the Texas Business Leadership Council, Walne helped establish several educational institutions, including the Charter School Resource Center of Texas, the Financial Foundation for Charter Schools, and the Charter School Policy Institute. She was actively involved in the Governor's initiatives for reading, math, science, teacher quality, early childhood, and high school education. She was also a consultant for the U.S. Department of Education on revising the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.

Walne has served in leadership positions on numerous boards, including The Woodlands Symphony Orchestra (founder and president), Houston YMCA, The Learning Accelerator (founding board member), and the Texas Charter School Finance Corporation (president). She is also a noted speaker, facilitator, and trainer.

Walne holds a B.A. degree with distinction from Stanford University. She also has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in education administration with a concentration in business from Stanford University.