Margaret Ellerbe Mahoney was born in Nashville, TN, in 1924. She received a B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1946. She served as a Program Analyst for the U.S. Dept of State, 1950-53, before beginning her career as a foundation executive at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In 1973 she moved to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where she was Vice President. She served as President of The Commonwealth Fund from 1980-94, and in 1995 established MEM Associates, a consulting firm specializing in health care delivery systems. She has served on a variety of boards and educational foundations including the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare's Medical Assistance Advisory Council and the Task Force on Medicaid and Related Programs, as well as the Health Industry Advisory Committee of the Cost of Living Council, the Dermatology Foundation, the Sun Valley Forum on National Health, the National Humanities Center, and the Smith College Board of Trustees (1988-93). In addition she was on the faculty of the Princeton University Program in Science and Human Affairs (1975-79). Margaret Mahoney died on December 22, 2011.