Mary worked in a variety of social service settings where she provided counseling, advocacy, and supportive services to children, adolescents, and adults. These experiences led her to pursue her Master of Social Work at the University of Montana. During this time, she served as the Graduate Assistant, a role that enabled her to successfully work with faculty to establish required coursework specific to the Indian Child Welfare Act to ensure that graduates entering the social service field understand this critical policy and its impacts upon indigenous families in Montana. 

Mary has a passion for mezzo and macro social work, which led her to pursuing policy-oriented positions with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). As a Program Officer and Section Supervisor, Mary's efforts to improve Montana’s behavioral health crisis system led to the development of the State of Montana’s first behavioral health crisis system strategic plan, the creation of the Special Populations Section within the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division, and the restructuring of several key programs and funding mechanisms to facilitate evidence-based practices. Mary recognizes that the success of these efforts was rooted in her meaningful collaboration and strong relationships with stakeholders, including service providers, government representatives, tribal officials, law enforcement officers, advocates, and technical assistance partners.  

Mary then served in the role of Prevention Bureau Chief, a key leadership position that oversees a team devoted to advancing Montana’s behavioral health system through a multitude of initiatives funded by federal grant programs. As the Prevention Bureau Chief, she regularly consolidated and presented relevant research to external stakeholders, federal partners, executive leadership, and state legislators to promote policy initiatives that would improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. She assessed the status of programming, budgets, and demonstrated system needs to make strategic decisions on how to allocate various funding streams to have the greatest collective impact across Montana.

In her role at the Center for Children, Families and Workforce Development, Mary works to support Montana's early childhood system. Her efforts are targeted at bolstering the capacity of Montana's Early Childhood Coalitions. In this work, Mary works closely with a variety of stakeholders to facilitate effective implementation and integration of system improvement efforts at both a local and state level. Mary feels lucky to have the opportunity to engage in purposeful work that reflects her belief that every individual deserves a socially justice and equitable society. She enjoys working with folks who care deeply about their communities and loves nothing more than finding solutions to complicated problems and creating tangible outcomes for those in need.