Marie-Claude Tanny is a trustee at the Lynch Foundation and a Senior Director of Development in Principal and Major Gifts at Harvard Medical School (HMS). In her role at HMS, she is responsible for engaging generous supporters of the university and securing significant donations to advance HMS priorities. With over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector and numerous volunteer leadership roles, Marie-Claude has a wide range of expertise, including marketing, operations, and success in outreach and relationship-building activities that advance an organization’s mission and fundraising goals.

Prior to joining Harvard Medical School, Marie-Claude was a frontline fundraiser in the Major Gifts Team at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She also held fundraising positions at Milton Academy, an independent college preparatory K-12 school, and First Literacy, a nonprofit organization that supports learner-centered Adult Basic Education programs in Greater Boston. 

Marie-Claude is a former Associate Board member at the New England Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and currently serves as a volunteer in ADL community outreach committee following her passion for connecting resources to needs and supporting local institutions. Additionally, she is a member of the Ministry of Hunger and Homelessness at St. Cecilia Parish, a Roman Catholic Church in Boston. She is a mentor in the Association of Fundraising of Professionals IDEA Fellowship. 

Marie-Claude is a graduate of Lycee Militaire de Saint Cyr, France. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Institut Franco-Americaine de Management (IFAM) in Paris, France, and studied law at Universite Pantheon Assas, in Paris, France. A native of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, Marie-Claude now makes Boston her chosen home. In her free time, Marie-Claude enjoys listening to jazz, dancing to any music, and loves sharing meals with family members and friends.