Mary grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. She received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and M.S. in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge. Mary’s early career focused on corporate and nonprofit communications, marketing and project management. She spent nearly 20 years as a speech language pathologist providing therapy in educational and healthcare settings. From 2015-2020, Mary ran a professional organizing business, assisting homeowners and small business owners to organize their living/work spaces.