Mary Ambrose serves as the Chief Equity & Impact Officer at United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA), where she leads the organization’s community impact and equity strategies across a seven-parish region. With over 30 years of experience in social services—including more than 25 years with UWSELA—Ms. Ambrose has guided a dedicated team of staff and volunteers in advancing initiatives that address systemic poverty and improve community conditions.
In her role, Ms. Ambrose oversees Community Impact volunteer leadership development, research, community engagement, strategic partnerships, and the equitable distribution of funds raised through the organization’s annual workplace campaign. She is also responsible for embedding equity practices organization wide, including developing talent pipelines, diversity metrics, training programs, and ensuring equitable funding and partnerships.
As former Chief Impact Officer, Ms. Ambrose led a transformative effort to redefine UWSELA’s relevance by centering community voice. This work resulted in the co-creation of the Blueprint for Prosperity, a strategic framework guiding UWSELA’s mission to eradicate poverty through a lens of equity, systemic change, and family stability. The Blueprint establishes a vision of equitable communities where all individuals are healthy, educated, and economically stable, supported by guiding principles such as lived experience, shared responsibility, and long-term commitment.
In 2025, Ms. Ambrose led the development of UWSELA’s Bold Goal: to move 100,000 individuals living below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold onto a pathway to prosperity by 2035. She also designed the Pathway framework and grant process, emphasizing case management as a critical bridge for helping individuals progress toward economic stability.
Under her leadership, UWSELA distributes millions of dollars annually to nonprofit partners across Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. She has played a key role in developing grant processes in major disaster recovery efforts, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ida, as well as the Gulf Oil Spill. She is widely recognized for developing strategic, results-driven processes and for expanding investments in collaborative initiatives that address the root causes of poverty and inform public policy.
Ms. Ambrose has led several landmark initiatives, including the launch of UWSELA’s first Prosperity Center, the Louisiana ALICE Report on financial hardship, and the Prosperity Dashboard, which provides data-driven insights into poverty. She also initiated the Jefferson and St. Tammany Prisoner Reentry Initiative and supervises a team of 14 while serving on UWSELA’s Leadership Team. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she directed relief efforts that allocated over $3 million—through partnerships with Black-led organizations and the BET Saving Ourselves initiative—to address urgent health and housing needs.
In 2026, Ms. Ambrose was recognized by the New Orleans Saints as a “Community Change Maker” for her leadership in developing and implementing the Impact 59 Grant process for the NFL Super Bowl. She is also the host of the radio show United Way & You on WBOK 1230 AM, which educates the community on the impact of United Way’s work.
Ms. Ambrose holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master of Social Work with a concentration in Administration, Planning, and Organizing from Southern University at New Orleans. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker and a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). In 2022, she earned a Certification in Diversity and Inclusion from eCornell at Cornell University. In 2016, she received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama for her lifelong commitment to volunteer service.
Committed to the Community Impact model, Ms. Ambrose continues to mobilize communities, partners, and resources to create sustained, equitable change across Southeast Louisiana.