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Mary was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. She earned an undergraduate degree in speech and hearing from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1977 and a graduate degree in communicative disorders 2 years later from the University of New Mexico.
She has been a speech-language pathologist for 28 years. She began her professional career in the Albuquerque Public Schools system, where she worked for 8 years, and was then employed with Lovelace Health System, formerly known as St. Joseph Healthcare, in 1987. She served as the Clinical Specialist in Swallowing and then became the Center Clinical Coordinator of Education and Therapy Educator in 1995, all the while continuing to provide direct patient care. Mary has presented at New Mexico Speech-Language Hearing Association (NMSHA) conventions on the topic of swallowing and dysphagia. She is an annual invited lecturer on this topic and traumatic brain injury at the University of New Mexico Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy graduate programs.
Mary has been active in NMSHA, holding several offices on the Board, including Secretary (1992-1994), President-Elect (1994-1995), President (1995-96), and Past-President (1996-1997). She currently presides as the ASHA Continuing Education Provider for NMSHA (2002-present), and in 1998-2002 she was ASHA's Coordinator for New Mexico on National Outcomes Measurement System. Mary has served since 1998 as an elected representative from New Mexico on the ASHA Legislative Council and was recently elected as the Interim Chair for 2008 of the ASHA Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council in the newly structured governance plan. She has served on the following ASHA Committees: Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Transition (2006-2008), Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Structure and Process (2005-2006), Committee on Operational Procedures (2004), Committee on Special Rules (2004-2006), and two terms on the Committee on Credentials, including 1 year as Chair (1999-2001, 2002-2004).
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