Mary Anne Lanier is President of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a Georgia-based private family foundation honoring the legacy of her father, the late Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011), Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc., the world’s largest modular carpet manufacturer, and a global leader in sustainability.
Prior to assuming her current role as President for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Lanier spent 12 years with Interface’s Sustainable Operations Team, managing the Interface Environmental Education Grants program, the company’s SocioMetrics program and the Cool Carpet™ program.
Assuming the role of a nonprofit trustee came naturally to Lanier in 2011, when the Foundation was re-launched, as she has always found joy and inspiration serving others in the communities where she has worked and lived.
She was the 2020-21 Chairman of the Board for the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL), and she participated in the 2016 IGEL class.
In 2015, Lanier was appointed to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Board, and in 2013, she was appointed to the National Wildlife Federation’s President’s Advisory Council and the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Dean’s Council. In 2021, she joined the Georgia Audubon Board.
She is an elder at Marietta First Presbyterian Church, where she has held leadership roles in multiple ministries, and she has held multiple board and leadership positions for St. Joseph Catholic School, the Junior League of Cobb-Marietta and Sheltering Arms (a local charity that provides resources for abused children). She also serves on the Marietta Council of Garden Clubs.
Mary Anne is a graduate of Furman University. She resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband James Lanier, who retired as Vice President of the multi-family market segment for Interface, and who also serves as a trustee for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. The Laniers have three grown sons. Jay Lanier is an account executive with Interface, John Lanier is Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, and Patrick Lanier is a brand advocate analyst at The Home Depot. The Laniers have three grandchildren.