Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mary Washington attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She earned a B.A. in Human Services from Antioch College in 1989, followed by an M.A. in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1997 from The Johns Hopkins University. Her career has included roles as an Assistant Professor at Lehigh University from 1995 to 2000, a Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, and Interim Director of the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators in 2005. She served as adjunct faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 2006 to 2008, Assistant Director of the Urban Resources Initiative from 2006 to 2008, and Associate Director of Great Parks, Clean Streams and Green Communities at the Parks and People Foundation starting in 2008. She was a Maryland Public Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow at the University of Maryland School of Law in 2013 and served as an Elder at the First & Franklin Street Presbyterian Church from 2002 to 2005. She served in the House of Delegates from 2011 to 2019 and was first elected to the Maryland Senate in 2018.
