Mary Bissell

Mary Bissell is a public interest attorney, child and family policy strategist, and co-founder of ChildFocus. For nearly 30 years, she’s been on the frontlines of systems change—designing bold advocacy campaigns, leading national initiatives, and advising changemakers in philanthropy, government, and nonprofits. 

She launched her career as an Equal Justice Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of DC, where she founded the nation’s first legal practice for kinship care families. From there, she became a legislative aide to former Senator John D. Rockefeller, a senior policy advocate at the Children’s Defense Fund, and a fellow at the New America Foundation. Along the way, her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, NPR, and the Today Show. For 15 years, Mary served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching advocacy for public interest lawyers and mentoring the next generation of leaders.

A magna cum laude graduate of Yale College and Georgetown University Law Center, Mary has served on the boards of the American Board of Pediatrics and Yale Harbor Fellows, and chaired both the National Center for Youth Law and NegotiationWorks. She is a member of the DC, Pennsylvania and Supreme Court Bar.