BIO AND BACKGROUND
CYNTHIA McVAY was a strategy and management consultant for McKinsey and independently for two decades, advising household names, nonprofits and startups. She served as Latin American Program Officer for the World Wildlife Fund and inaugural Director of Innovation for the Peace Corps. She holds a BA from Harvard in biology and studio arts, and an MA in international studies (Brazil/Portuguese) from the University of Pennsylvania and MBA from Wharton, as a Fellow of The Lauder Institute. Cynthia serves on numerous boards including the Rauch Foundation, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, John Burroughs Association, Harvard Club of the Hudson Valley and Rondout Rowing Club. She splits her time between the Hudson Valley and St. Croix, USVI.
PROFESSIONAL
- FIELD FARM, Writer and Artist, 2015-present
- McVAY ASSOCIATES: Strategy, Management, Innovation and Branding Consultant, New York, NY, 1998-2015
- PEACE CORPS: Director, Office of Innovation, Washington DC, 2009-2012
- WOOLWORTH CORPORATION/FOOT LOCKER: VP of Strategic Planning, New York, NY, 1995-98
- McKINSEY & COMPANY, New York, NY, 1988-95
- WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, Senior Program Officer, Latin American and Caribbean Program, Washington, DC, 1983-86
EDUCATION
JOSEPH LAUDER INSTITUTE of Management and International Studies, Fellow, Philadelphia, PA, 1988
- MBA, The Wharton Business School, Multinational Business and Marketing
- MA, University of Pennsylvania, International Studies: Latin America/Brazil
- American Association of University Women Fellowship, Wharton Scholarship
- Choreographer, Wharton Follies
HARVARD COLLEGE, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1983
- BA, Biology and Visual & Environmental Studies (studio arts), Magna Cum Laude
- Awards: Summa on honors thesis, Rhodes Scholar Semi Finalist, Sigma XI Grant, John Harvard Scholarship for Highest Distinction, Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Scholarship for Highest Distinction, Radcliffe President's Discretionary Fund
- Intercollegiate basketball, intramural sports
- Acted, sang and danced in ten plays, three movies
VISUAL ARTS
- Group show, Caribbean Museum Center of the Arts, St. Croix, Artists Guild of St. Croix, January 2020
- Group show, Caribbean Museum Center of the Arts, St. Croix, Swimming to Abstraction, February 2020
- Group show, KUBE, Orphans of Painting II, Beacon, NY, Summer 2019, curated by Raúl Zamudio and Ethan Cohen
- Multiple group shows with ASK, Kingston, New York
- Represented by Art for Media; Artwork featured on Madigan Men TV series (Fall 2000), starring Gabriel Byrne; Sex and the City, commercials
- Solo art show, "Paperworks," Washington, DC, 1986
- Group show, Wharton Art Show, 1987
- Group show, Stuart Country Day School, 1989
- Dozens of works in private collections
- At Harvard, studied with:
- Louis Bakanowsky (design)
- Dmitri Hadzi (sculpture)
- Toshihiro Katayama (graphic design)
- Arthur Loeb (design science)
- Robert Luchetti (form and technology)
- Harvey Quaytman (painting)
- Richard Sheehan (painting)
OTHER
- Board Member, Rauch Foundation
- Board Member, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Strategy and Innovation Committee Chair
- Board Member, John Burroughs Association
- VP and Member, Rondout Rowing Club, 2014-2024; obsessive master rower
- Executive Committee Member Harvard Club of the Hudson Valley
- Member, Artists Guild of St. Croix, USVI (2018-2022)
- Member, Garden Club, St. Croix, USVI (2018)
- Member, Writers Circle, St. Croix, USVI (2018-present)
- Previous Boards: Town of Esopus Environmental Board and Waterfront Advisory Committee, World Music Institute, Watermark Theater (1992-1995), Westchester Land Trust (1994-1995), U.S. Bike (1998-2000), WishYouWereThere.com (1999-2005), askthemoms.com (1999-2005)
- Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, some German
- All-State and All-Star Basketball Player (1977-1979); Stuart Country Day Athletic Hall of Fame