Mary grew up in Olney, Maryland, with her parents, and younger brother, John. In 2008, she moved to the area to attend James Madison University. She studied Inclusive Early Childhood Education and graduated in 2013.

In 2015, she found Our Neighborhood. She continues to learn about the ONCDC philosophies. JMU taught her that children learn through play, that children are full humans who deserve respect, and that your interaction with children needs to be meaningful for learning to occur. Here, at ONCDC, she is learning how to put those concepts into practice everyday.