Career Highlights

Mary’s work has been recognized with many awards, including the Dale Prize, National Preservation Award, Louise duPont Crowninshield Award, and the American Planning Association’s Planning Pioneer Award.  Mary was also a Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and adjunct faculty at the University of Pennsylvania.   She enjoys public speaking, helping community organizations achieve their goals, connecting with friends, colleagues and clients, and traveling the world.

National Main Street Program Emory University/Clifton Community Partnership Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad Byway
Opa-locka
Community Revitalization
Mary conceived Main Street as a way to help small towns bring life back to their declining downtowns, “to encourage economic development within the context of historic preservation,” a then radical ambition. Since its inception, thousands of communities have implemented the strategies she devised. Mary structured a ground-breaking town-gown partnership to implement an ambitious placemaking strategy incorporating transit, walkable streets, affordable housing, and sustainable development at edges of Emory’s campus. Mary redefined scenic byway planning to create a framework for reviving interest and attracting new investments to bring to life the stories of Tubman and other courageous conductors who liberated enslaved people throughout Maryland’s eastern shore. Over multiple assignments, Mary developed a Vision Plan, coached local leaders, and implemented action strategies that capitalized on the town’s unique Arabian Nights architecture to reposition its reputation, attract national arts funding, and become one of Greater Miami’s arts hubs.