Board Member
Professionally, Mary taught Biochemistry in the WVU School of Medicine for 40 years. Having grown up on an Upstate NY farm, she quickly fell in love with West Virginia’s wild public lands, leading to her interest in protecting them. She began her environmental activism with the WV Chapter of Sierra Club, working on planning for the Monongahela National Forest. She helped design a new management prescription (“6.2”) for the most pristine non-Wilderness lands, preventing timbering and road building. Subsequently, she worked within the WV Wilderness Coalition to add 38,000 acres of these lands to the National Wilderness System through a bill signed by President Obama in 2009.
Besides leading outings for WV Sierra Club, Mary has been involved in several other environmental arenas. Three highlights are: Canaan Valley Task Force, resulting in designation of Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and two of Governor Caperton’s Legislative Task Forces, one resulting in the WV Groundwater Protection Act, and the other for Brownfield legislation, guiding reclamation of old industrial sites. Mary was a founding member of the Coopers Rock Foundation and WV Environmental Council. After retirement, to promote local flatwater paddling, she organized Morgantown Area Paddlers and worked to improve Mon River access, earning her the 2018 “Star of the Industry” Award from the Greater Morgantown CVB.
Several award highlights are: Special Achievement Award from National Sierra Club for Mon NF work; Canaan Award for Defense of Wild Places from WV Sierra Club; The “Wilderness-Forever-Future” Volunteer Leadership Award from the National Wilderness Movement in celebration of 40th Anniversary of 1964 Wilderness Act; and Certificate of Appreciation from Chief, U.S. Forest Service, for Mon Trail Recovery Project (with Paul Turner) after the 1985 flood.
Mary enjoys many outdoor activities (hiking, camping, paddling, XC skiing/snowshoeing, biking, bird watching, wildflower IDing, nature photography), as well as reading, puzzling, and spending time with friends. Her favorite travels are to U.S. and Canadian National Parks, Emerald Isle, NC, and art museums. She has one grown son, Ben, and 3 lovely kitties.