Mary retired from the federal sector in January 2021 after working in various job assignments during a 41-year career. In her last assignment, she served as the Director of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, responsible for implementation of the EEO program for a global command in the United States and overseas. Her position required the command adhere to policies established by the EEO Commission and Department of the Army. Past employment during her workforce years included: Equal Opportunity Specialist investigating claims of discrimination in the Birmingham District Office of the EEO Commission; Benefits Authorizer with the Social Security Administration in Birmingham; high school history teacher in North Carolina; temporary clerical for non-profit organizations in San Carlos, California and Las Cruces, New Mexico; and served as an adult vocational education teacher with the Concentrated Employment Program in Huntsville.
Mary is a native of Madison County/Huntsville, Alabama where she attended elementary and high schools in Madison County, graduating from Councill Training School in 1961. She went on to attend Alabama A&M University majoring in History and Government and minoring in Business Education where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. She is a graduate of Army Management Staff College, with concentration in its Sustaining Base Leadership Program of study in April 1998.
Over the years of her career, Mary has received numerous awards such as: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (two times), Department of the Army’s Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, and numerous Exceptional Performance Awards. One of her proudest achievements was to have her name recorded in the “Foot Soldiers” registry in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute for active participation in the civil rights struggle in the 1960’s. She is a Gold Plus Life Member of Blacks In Government (BIG) and a Diamond Life Member of Federally Employed Women (FEW). Mary has received awards from BIG for Distinguished Service at the chapter and regional level. She is an inductee in the BIG Distinguished Service Hall of Fame, the highest honor of that organization. She has received awards from FEW for Distinguished Service at the chapter level and in 2019, received the FEW Southeast Region’s Unsung Shero Award for outstanding performance and accomplishments in helping women to advance in their careers. She has received other recognitions such as: Distinguished Service Award from the Huntsville-Madison County Chapter of the NAACP and was awarded a Presidential Citation of Merit from Alabama A&M University (AAMU) in 1990 for work she spearheaded during her term as Chair of the AAMU Business and Industry Cluster organization.
Mary was active in the civil rights movement with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, participating in sit ins at lunch counters in Huntsville. She is active in the Huntsville/Madison County Branch of the NAACP, serving on its Executive Committee where she is a Life Member. She is the founder of the Huntsville-Madison County Chapter of BIG, serving in many leadership positions over the past 31 years. Currently she serves as President of the chapter. She volunteered to serve as Secretary of the CTS Reunion Planning Committee in 2019 and since that time, put to work her secretarial and managerial skills, where she has served the CTS Alumni Association in many capacities.
Mary, a divorced parent, is the proud mother of two sons and “Gramm” to five grandsons. She is affiliated with Restoration Church, Five Points Campus, which is a Four Gospel Non-Denominational Christian church.