Carrie Fox, ’01, founder and CEO of Mission Partners, named Loyola’s 2026 Commencement speaker
Founder and CEO of Mission Partners Carrie Fox, ’01, will deliver the address at Loyola University Maryland’s 173rd Commencement Exercises. The ceremony will be held Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 3 p.m., at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.
“As a Loyola graduate and trustee, Carrie is a tremendous example of how Loyola alumni carry the values and lessons from their education far into their personal and professional lives—and have an impact in their field and on their communities,” said Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., president of Loyola. “She is an inspiring leader, a true innovator, and an expert communicator who will have a compelling message to share with our Class of 2026. We are honored to welcome her and look forward to hearing her address—and inspire—our graduating class.”
Fox founded Mission Partners, a women-owned strategic communications firm that guides high-potential nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible companies in realizing their greatest social impact. She is also the founder of Mission ForwardTM, a national education platform that equips purpose-driven leaders to lead with care, courage, and clarity. Since launching her first company in 2004, Fox has guided hundreds of leaders and their teams to communicate with purpose, fueling organizations and their missions forward in new and more impactful ways.
Fox’s work focuses deeply on issues of community, from social justice to sustainability, children’s health, higher education, and workforce development. Her signature “More Than Words” approach to courageous communication has become the foundation of her best-selling book of the same name.
Fox served as the creative visionary behind a nationwide campaign to transform the foster care system for young people aging out of care and she was the lead communications strategist behind a $10 million global prize competition to advance more fuel-efficient vehicles. She is also a founding signatory of the #WeTheChange declaration to build business for good, and a founding member of the Purpose Collaborative, a national network of communications thought-leaders and industry experts that work together to provide impactful problem solving in touch with the current needs of today’s purpose-driven businesses.
Her signature conversation series and award-winning podcast, Mission Forward with Carrie Fox, has featured Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, MacArthur Fellows, a National Geographic explorer, and some of the nation’s most sought-after philanthropy leaders. Fox is a 2001 graduate of Loyola University Maryland, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees, and, as a former Student Government Association president, chairs the Student Development Committee. She is also the co-author of Adventures in Kindness: 52 Awesome Adventures for Kids to Build a Better World, which she wrote with her then-10-year-old daughter Sophia. Fox lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, with her family.
During the ceremony, Loyola will present Fox with a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa.
Also honored at Commencement will be:
- Rev. Timothy B. Brown, S.J., assistant to the president for mission integration and associate professor of law and social responsibility, who will receive the President’s Medal
- David F. Roswell, Ph.D., EMBA ’85, Hauber professor emeritus, who will receive the Carroll Medal
For more information about Commencement, visit Loyola's Commencement website.