VOTE FOR EXPERIENCE
Hello! I’m Mary Stephens and I’m running for the Sudbury School Committee because I believe my unique blend of experiences as an edtech business leader, educator, and professor, equips me with the insights and skills needed to address this difficult work. More importantly, as a parent, I share the hopes, concerns, and aspirations of every family in our district. I have a passion for collaboratively working to understand the roots of problems, formulating innovative solutions that are well-defined and data-driven, transparently communicating how decisions were reached, and then assessing based on performance metrics what may need to change.
Family – I am a devoted mom to Myles in 4th grade, Tyler in 3rd grade, and Ceci in preschool. I met my husband Andy in Ireland while we were both working for an education company and now he works as a software architect for an edtech company. Our family feels so blessed that we found our home in Sudbury in 2020 with such a wonderful community.
Volunteering – I have always been an active volunteer in my community. A few highlights include serving as a member of the Haynes School Council with three principals, counselor for the MIT Educational Council, and founding board member of a network of charter schools in underserved communities in San Jose, CA.
Professional Career – Currently, I serve as CEO of an education technology strategy company, including working with MA DESE on a professional learning community for evidence-based early literacy practices with faculty across MA. For 15 years prior to that, I served as CEO of PrepForward (acquired by PCG), a leading provider of online K-12 teacher prep solutions, used by MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Teach for America, universities, and school districts, with a particular focus of increasing diversity in the teacher workforce. In addition, I have extensive teaching experience, from being a professor training prospective teachers to teaching K-12 computers and math. This is coupled with my edtech expertise serving as research and development manager at Houghton Mifflin, founder of Omega Teaching, professional math consultant at a MA university, and program strategy manager at multiple companies. I understand how to make tough, evidence-based decisions that involve a delicate balance of conflicting priorities.
As a candidate for school committee, I offer a distinct mixture of business acumen and practical educational experience, aimed at ensuring our educational institutions deliver an engaging, equitable, and superior learning environment for every pupil. Let’s collaborate to forge a future where every child has the opportunity to excel.