Mary’s professional life has been built around the idea of enabling people of different backgrounds and disciplines to communicate effectively. For a number of years she worked partly in business and partly in Government, serving for a time in the British Embassy in Washington DC and, later, in the High Commission in Ottawa, Canada.
From 1988 to 1999 she and her husband successfully operated a Consultancy, whose fundamental role was to facilitate mutual understanding between Industry and Officialdom in all their various forms, whether in a British or European context. Hence Mary’s passionate belief in effective, innovative learning processes, including such techniques as using Memory Systems, Speed Reading and visual thinking: in 1997 she was appointed as a Director of a new company called the Mind Sports Olympiad and, for several years, she organised World Championships in these disciplines. From 1997 to 2003 she ran regular weekend courses to teach children, young people and adults effective methods of improving memory, speed-reading and visual techniques.
In 2001 she qualified as an Alexander Technique teacher, having been trained by Walter and Dilys Carrington at their prestigious school in Holland Park, London, the Constructive Teaching Centre. (Walter trained with F M Alexander, who created the technique in the early 1900’s.)