Mary is a graduate of Cornell College in Iowa and has a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Northwestern University in Illinois. She is a member of the Merrick Jewish Centre and has held several positions these past 20-plus years. She was a co-president of the School Board until tapped by Rabbi Klein to organize an outreach program to families which ran for two years. She has been on the Sisterhood Board in several positions from Paid-Up Membership Co-Chair to President, and now is Financial Secretary. She is the Chair of the Inclusion Committee, helping MJC recognize Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) for the past two years. 

Mary is an American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) certified Sexuality Educator who served as the Director of Training and Education for Mohawk Hudson Planned Parenthood, headquartered then in Schenectady, and, after moving to Long Island, worked with adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at ACLD in Bethpage. While working at Planned Parenthood she received the Golden Apple Award for Education Director of the year from APPLE, Association of Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education.

Now retired, she helps run a weekly reading group for adults with disabilities at EPIC Long Island and is a chief cook at Soup to Nuts in Freeport which on Fridays provides a full lunch for 100 or more individuals. She organizes a group at MJC that puts together lasagna for Soup to Nuts once a month.  She is a member of the Merrick Chorale and enjoys singing Haftorot during the year. She was honored this past year to chant the Haftorah at Yom Kippur. She likes to quilt, swim, make sock monkeys, bake and be outside hiking, biking, wandering and exploring the world.

She has been married to Steven for 53 years and has two married daughters who live in Brooklyn.