Mary Thompson
Mary is a senior social development specialist with over 25 years’ experience in advancing poverty alleviation, gender equality, social inclusion, human rights, and protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) in international development. She was senior adviser to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Safeguarding Unit (2018-2025) with oversight for PSEAH policy and technical work. Before that she held various advisory roles in the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Earlier in her career, Mary worked with UNICEF and the Inter-American Development Bank, focusing on indigenous rights, social safeguards, poverty alleviation and social inclusion, developing policy and practice in support of positive social impact.
She holds a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Durham and a BA (Hons) in Economics from Heriot-Watt University.
Mary is a strong advocate for ensuring that development and humanitarian action uphold the highest ethical standards — building systems of accountability, safeguarding and inclusion that empower and protect people and strengthen organisational credibility.
I have been a member of the ACB since 2022.
I became a member of HQAI to support their work and commitment to international aid integrity. I am pleased to bring my expertise and interest to the table in support of efforts to champion accountable, effective, high quality aid to the people who need it.
HQAI is an important organisation that independently certifies standards for aid integrity in the humanitarian and development sectors, in particular the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability. This is a critical function in supporting organisations to deliver aid that is more transparent and accountable to the people they serve and to those who provide the funding that enables the organisations to carry out their work.