Mary received a B.A. in Chemistry from College of St. Thomas and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Iowa State University.  Following a postdoc in Analytical Chemistry at Iowa State, Mary began teaching at St. Olaf College in 1992.  She has taught a variety of classes in the chemistry curriculum, most frequently the first-year courses and Analytical Chemistry.  Mary served as chemistry department chair for many years and as Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2014-2020.  Outside of her work at St. Olaf, Mary enjoys spending time with family (especially her grandchildren Lauren, Calvin and Tessa), exercising, baking, and all different kinds of crafting (knitting, crocheting, sewing, scrapbooking, etc.).