Leadership
Mary Lim is the Executive Director of Genesis. She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Juris Doctorate from Saint Louis University. She was blessed by God and the Universe to mother a 18 year old who is a student at University of California-Davis. Mary is the proud daughter of Chinese immigrants who originated from the Philippines. Her community organizing origin story began with MORE² (Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity), the Gamaliel Affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas. With a moderate/conservative electorate as her base, Mary was able to facilitate unity by ushering MORE² to monitor a historic community benefits agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation that required that .5% of the total project budget must be reserved for training and apprenticeship programs to prepare minority workers for jobs on the Christopher S. Bond Bridge.
The current issue work of Genesis feeds Mary’s passion of working with people with disabilities, youth and public transit. As part of the Gamaliel Network Training team, Mary has trained on the basic skills of community organizing, story-telling, and how to engage with elected officials for over 16 years. A third generation Roman Catholic, Mary’s organizing ministry is modeled after Jesus (the agitator) and the Catholic Social Teachings.

Rev. Dr. Hubert Ivery, the Genesis Interim Chair, serves on the At-Large Caucus of Genesis. Genesis’ goal to work towards dismantling structural racism dovetails with Dr. Ivery’s passion for working for the transformation of our society towards a Beloved Community.
