SUMMER 2026 | 27 At the United Hospital Fund, Tully’s governance role helps advance the organization’s mission to create an equitable health system for all New Yorkers, and leverages her rich understanding of public policy and how local, state and federal agencies work independently and together. “The way to really make an impact is to pursue those organizations and those opportunities that align with your passion,” Tully says. “For me, it’s about creating health equity in the five boroughs of New York City.” A native New Yorker, Tully knew the community she wanted to serve long before stepping onto Lehigh’s campus. The CSO as it is today did not yet exist during Tully’s time on South Mountain. As a government major (now political science), she spent her senior fall semester interning on Capitol Hill, an experience that shaped her understanding of public policy on everyday lives. “I fell in love with the interplay of public policy on real-life Americans,” she adds. “It wasn’t theoretical for me; it was the opportunity to understand how public policy can improve individual citizens and whole communities.” Tully joined the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi sorority, where she engaged in philanthropic work such as advocating for the chapter’s national cause, women’s heart health. Tully now serves as an adviser of Hofstra University’s Alpha Phi chapter, finding Greek life to be one of the many ways community and belonging are formed, as well as an avenue for gaining leadership skills and opportunities students wouldn’t find in other settings. After returning to her roots in New York City, Tully earned her Master of Public Administration at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, developing a drive for health and healthcare policy. Tully was selected as a Health Policy Fellow of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems after joining the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, the nation’s largest public hospital system, as an analyst in finance. Throughout her career, Tully has recognized the unique set of challenges encountered in nonprofit leadership and the public sector. Achievements in changing or establishing public policy often originate in the nonprofit sector in collaboration with public officials, Tully says. While there might not be shareholders or the same kind of balance sheet, there are donors and constituents, she says, where “we’re supporting the human condition, often in some of the most vulnerable populations.” For those unsure how to get involved, Tully believes volunteerism is more accessible than ever. “Stick your toe in the water. Maybe it’s something you’ll do once, maybe it’s something you’ll do annually, like delivering meals over the holidays,” she says. “Volunteerism has opportunities for engagement across a lifelong continuum.” At Lehigh, Tully sees service as part of the university’s culture. “Service is embedded within Lehigh,” she says. “It’s imbued into our DNA.” Through the CSO alone, students can contribute to the community in countless ways that have purpose. “Carolina [Hernandez] and her folks in the CSO do an incredible job. It’s extraordinary,” Tully says. “Those small wins every day add up. There’s a child who now understands a math problem, there’s a mom who now feels a little bit better because there's a great after-school program she can rely on.” These opportunities for local and global service expand students’ʼ worldviews. Encountering people and opportunities make them more informed, more equipped, better educated and more compassionate. It fills students with gratitude, Tully adds, for the skills and talents they can share with others. “There’s no greater love than that,” Tully says. “These students are future makers; they are good humans who are great problem solvers, and they will demonstrate the legacy Lehigh creates.” Back at the CSO, Hernandez sees Lehigh’s legacy reflected in the Lehigh seal, where the values of light, love and truth are represented through a rising sun and a heart resting on an open book. “You can’t have that heart without community,” she says. “We have a responsibility to each other and the greater good.” Leading with heart, she believes, is part of every Lehigh student’s story, and something that will always connect them. L “Stick your toe in the water. Maybe it’s something you’ll do once, maybe it’s something you’ll do annually, like delivering meals over the holidays.” —Mary Beth Tully ʼ84 Pʼ21 Pʼ21 Mary Beth Tully ’84 P’21 P’21
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