Having grown up in rural New York playing in creek bottoms, chasing lightning bugs and fishing with her family, Mary started life with a strong connection to the outdoors. After an eight-year stint doing social work in New York City after undergrad, and while completing master’s work in Animal Behavior and Conservation, Mary felt called to be in a wilder place. She moved to Alaska in 2016, finding work on the Tongass National Forest in multiple capacities and spending time in rural communities. Mary has worked with the U.S. Forest Service in fisheries and wildlife, river ranging, and interpretation. She’s dispatched bush planes all over Southeast Alaska from Yakutat to Ketchikan, and in 2020 she co-founded a small nonprofit, the Yakutat Nature Society, to help grow a migratory birding festival in Yakutat, Alaska.
Since moving to Alaska, Mary has become an avid hunter of game big and small, as well as mushrooms, and revels in the outdoor opportunities that Alaska offers from sea to stream to the alpine. She currently resides in Juneau with her husband Rueben and their two dogs, Rocky and Riggs. Mary joined BHA as a member during a local Juneau event in early 2023 and is thrilled to now play a bigger role in the organization, being the voice for Alaska’s public lands, waters and wildlife as the Alaska Chapter Coordinator.
Contact Mary:
607-349-1831