Mary Prefontaine
ICAN

Mary Prefontaine, executive director of ICAN - the Institute for Career Advancement Needs

Mary Prefontaine is the Executive Director of the Institute for Career Advancement Needs, Inc. - ICAN – a leadership development organization helping companies nationwide to educate and inspire their employees to become leaders. ICAN’s philosophy is “To understand leadership, you must understand people, and to understand people, you must understand yourself”. Ms. Prefontaine has over 20 years of experience in senior executive positions in marketing and business development in both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Ms. Prefontaine is a certified Emergenetics International Associate and speaks on the subject of whole-brain and whole-system thinking.

Prior to joining ICAN in 2006, Mary was the Vice President of Marketing for the Omaha Symphony, the leading performing arts organization in Nebraska. Ms. Prefontaine is native of Vancouver, Canada, with a 15 year career in tourism marketing and destination development. She served as Director of Tourism Communications for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Bid Corporation and as a destination management consultant for the government of British Columbia. She also served as Director of Business Development and Government Relations, and Director of Sales and Market Development, with the Greater Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Currently Mary Prefontaine serves on Methodist Women’s Hospital Advisory Council and the University of Nebraska Omaha College of Business National Advisory Board. She has previously served on the board of the International Relations committee for the Professional Convention and Meeting Planners Association and on the Asia and European Marketing Committee for the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Driven by a passion to help make the world a better place through her love of the earth and humanity, Mary Prefontaine recently spent a month in Africa working for the Kenyan Children’s Foundation, helping to build a better community for children suffering from AIDS. She shares her love of travel, diverse cultures, music and nature with her life partner, Rob and children Ian and Jocelyn.