In 2005, Mary Ann became President of the Beyster Foundation for Enterprise Development, created in 1986 by her late father, Bob Beyster, and renamed in 2017.  The Foundation supports advanced research, education/technical assistance, and catalytic community programs that advance innovation, entrepreneurship and broad-based employee ownership.  For her work through the Foundation, Mary Ann has received awards for exceptional impact in employee ownership, and recognitions for start-up/small business innovation. 

Initiatives launched include the Beyster Institute and the J.R. Beyster Special Collection at UCSD, the Rutgers’ Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, the Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership, Beyster Professorship, Beyster Fellowships & Symposium, Rutgers/Aspen Institute EO Ideas DC Forum, EO Training in Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth at UMICH, Employee Participation and Ownership Scholarly Research Award at Academy of Management, and Best Paper Prize for Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership.  Published “The SAIC Solution” and “Names, Numbers, and Network Solutions”, and produced “We the Owners” documentary film.  More details and listings of current place-based initiatives found at the Foundation (beyster.com)

Mary Ann is Trustee of Beyster Family Foundations in support of health and human services, education, conservation, and art & culture, primarily in the San Diego region. She is a Director’s Council member at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, advisory board member of StartBlue, and Emeritus of Birch Aquarium. She is also active as Trustee Emeriti of The Nature Conservancy’s California Chapter, former board member and Medallion Society member of La Jolla Music Society, and Producer Club at KPBS.  

Impact investing extends Mary Ann’s philanthropy and community involvement. Her portfolio includes investor notes, venture debt, venture fund and equity positions to advance healthy soils and oceans, community/worker well-being, and broad-based wealth creation.

As an early-stage catalytic funder, Mary Ann is a founding sponsor to Start.Coop, UCSD’s Entrepreneur Challenge, StartR, Veteran Ventures, San Diego’s Economy Food Lab,  Women in Ocean Food Latin America, Vivid Life Home Care Cooperative, DAWI’s Worker Ownership Cities, and San Diego’s StartBlue.  She has been a judge for two major social innovation competitions-JMK Innovation Fund and MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change.

Her research in this field includes a published report in 2017 titled, Impact Investing and Employee Ownership: Making employee-owned enterprises part of the income inequality solution.  Read more here.