Mary is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Minnesota. The Public Narrative and Traumatic Stress Study is a dissertation study investigating the relationship between public narrative and traumatic stress. Mary's work suggests that public narrative could offer a new area of focus for prevention and intervention and addresses the complex and interconnected ways in which individuals experience and heal from traumatic stress. 

Mary has worked as a social worker and researcher in an number of capacities and issue areas, including poverty, human rights, domestic violence, racial equity, sex trafficking, education, food security, and community violence. Mary is passionate about working with individuals and communities to document lived experience and interested in evaluation for its ability to investigate and communicate complex stories of social change. 

Mary holds a MSW from the University of Michigan and a BS in social work from St. Catherine University. Mary also has a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute.