Mary graduated in Fashion Design from the Academy of Industrial Fashion Design in Montreal and Ryerson University, now Toronto Metropolitan University, and moved to Vancouver BC, and pursued a career in the apparel industry. Starting to work with knits she worked for knits manufacturing, technical knits, apparel CAD, and then moved to the technical apparel industry. She started in production patternmaking, pattern grading, manual, and CAD. She then moved to technical apparel raw materials coordinating and studying textiles. She then worked in production management for technical apparel before joining KPU.
Mary also has three certificates in textile studies, from North Carolina State University, and an MEd from Simon Fraser University. She has been teaching at KPU in Fashion & Technology for more than twenty years. She teaches Production, Production CAD, and Technical Apparel courses.