Our Leadership

Mary Marx is the President & CEO of the Pace Center for Girls and over the past decade has led the organization through an extensive period of growth.

Since its founding in 1985, Pace’s direct service work has positively impacted the lives of more than 40,000 girls and over the past decade its work on impacting public systems and policies has contributed to a more than 60% decrease in the number of girls that are referred to Florida’s juvenile justice system. In 2019 Pace embarked on a national expansion strategy using a community participatory action model grounded in the needs, issues, concerns and strategies of communities to achieve community transformation and social change.

Marx has led large multi-site not for profit agencies focused on the well-being of children for the past three decades. She is a fellow in the inaugural Results for America Non-Profit Fellowship, serves on the Legislative Committee for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, is a member of the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community and serves on several committees for local and statewide organizations. Marx is a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon and serves as the Counselor for Rotary Youth Exchange, providing mentorship and support to foreign exchange students in NE Florida.

April Dobes joined the Pace team in October of 2024, having spent most of her career with Sysco, where she held several leadership roles, including CFO & Vice President of Finance for Sysco Jacksonville, Market CFO for the Southeast Region, President & EVP of Sysco Jacksonville, and most recently as Senior Director of Sales Finance for Sysco US, where she managed $50B in revenue and $1B in expenses. 

April holds an MBA from the University of North Florida and a bachelor’s degree in finance and international business from Jacksonville University.  April’s strong commitment to community service through her role as a Trustee for the River Garden Foundation aligns with her commitment to serving our mission. Her leadership is defined by integrity, collaboration, and a passion for fostering environments where caring, purpose, learning, and results thrive. 

As the Chief Program Officer, Teddy Thompson oversees the overall implementation and performance of the Pace Center for Girls’ program models and leads the development, operations, evaluation, and growth of these models. He is responsible for developing, strengthening, and managing a comprehensive array of gender-responsive program services across multiple states, setting organizational and programmatic vision and priorities, and building a strong and collaborative organizational and program team culture.

Thompson joined Pace in 2018 as the Chief Advancement Officer. Under his leadership, Pace has experienced significant 20% growth in revenue. He also oversaw the development and execution of a consolidated marketing and public relations strategy that has gained national attention and elevated Pace’s position as the nation’s leading advocate for girls.

Thompson has over 20 years of sales, marketing and leadership experience in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors.  He has a deep passion for working on behalf of youth and serving the needs of those most at risk in our communities.  Prior to joining Pace, he served as Vice President of Resource Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, one of the largest in the country, where he was responsible for leading the board development and fundraising.  He also served as a National Director of Corporate and Cause Partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America where he was responsible for a corporate development team in the Eastern United States that secured over $80 Million in revenue under his leadership.

Thompson is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland with a degree in Secondary Education and serves as most favorite in his household of two beautiful daughters and amazing wife.