Our Founder:
Sr. Marilyn Lacey, RSM
Our founder, Sr. Marilyn Lacey, has been a member of the Sisters of Mercy since 1966 and has worked with refugees since 1980. Prior to founding Mercy Beyond Borders, Sr. Marilyn developed and managed comprehensive refugee resettlement & immigration programs at Catholic Charities in San Jose, CA. She’s been a presenter at countless schools, universities and professional conferences throughout the US, plus venues in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, and in the Horn of Africa.
Watch Sr. Marilyn's insightful podcast interview, 'Leadership and Life Lessons', hosted by Jeanie Coomber, with Warriors at Work.
Awards
Honored in person by the Dalai Lama in 2001 as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion”
Global Winner of $1m Opus Prize in 2017 for inspirational faith-based leadership
2017 National Purpose Prize Fellow, AARP
2018 Honoree, “Hear Her Song” concert at National Gallery, Washington DC
2021, Awarded the Christus Magister Medal, University of Portland, OR (watch the ceremony below):
Education
Master’s in Social Welfare, UC Berkeley, 1984
Lifetime Teaching Credential & Lifetime K-12 Administrative Credential, CA, 1980
B.A., Humanities, Magna Cum Laude, Russell College 1971
Honorary Doctorates:
2010: College of St Mary, Omaha, NE
2011: St. Joseph College, Standish, ME
2012: St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL
2019: Maria College, Albany NY
Publications
Author, This Flowing Toward Me: A Story of God Arriving in Strangers (Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, 2009), available for purchase on Amazon
Author, “Beyond Google Earth,” chapter in To Oldly Go (Bradt Travel Bks, England, 2015)
Author, “A Case Study in International Refugee Policy,” in People in Upheaval (Center for Migration Studies, NY 1987)