Nancy Anne Jaffe

Nancy Anne Jaffe, a recent resident of Somerville, and longtime resident of Thailand and Cambodia, passed away at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, from complications following surgery for pancreatic cancer.
She was the beloved wife of Christopher Paul McCarthy with whom she enjoyed 26 years of marriage and 31 years of adventures.
Nancy was kind, generous, smart and funny; a digital trailblazer; a mentor and inveterate explorer. Her remarkable journey took her from Madison Avenue boardrooms to Silicon Valley start-ups and, later, the policy halls and international development world of Southeast Asia, where she used her quick wit, compassionate spirit and formidable intellect to make an indelible mark on the world.
She was equally at home in panel discussions with ambassadors and global leaders as she was dancing through a dust-storm at Burning Man, wandering down side streets of unfamiliar cities, or attending contemporary dance performances, a passion she and Chris both shared.
Nancy broke barriers on Madison Avenue at a time when few women occupied senior strategic roles in her industry, and she used her experience to mentor young people – especially women – helping them learn to navigate their own paths to success.
Born in Aberdeen, Maryland on January 9, 1954, and raised in Pennsylvania, Nancy attended Wellesley College, earning a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science before completing an M.A. in Social Psychology with a statistics focus at Columbia University.
In 2014, she co-founded Southeast Asia-based consulting firm MangoTango Asia with her husband, serving as Chief Strategy Officer. Under her guidance, the firm provided digital-transformation, research and capacity-building projects for USAID, UNDP, The Asia Foundation, and many private-sector clients.
She was a sought-after speaker at regional events, sharing insights on topics ranging from online gender-based harassment to effective digital literacy practices, and offering guidance on how women can step into, and thrive, in leadership roles.
Nancy leaves an enduring legacy in the people she lifted up along her journey.
She is survived by her husband, Christopher McCarthy; her brother Rodger Jaffe of Bayonne, New Jersey and his partner Ingrid Linton; sister Jannah Saleh of Klamath Falls, Oregon; brother Rick Jaffe and his wife Rebecca of Yardley, Pennsylvania; brother Robert Jaffe and his wife Catherine of St. Petersburg, Florida; 14 nieces and nephews (Michaela, David, Annaliese, Iman, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Abdullah, Abdurahman, Rahima, Haleema, Aisha, Adam, Jabril, and Donovan), and an extended global family of friends, mentees, and collaborators.
Her funeral services will be held privately.