Mary has contributed to Australia’s healthcare system reform in a variety of executive and leadership roles over the last 30 years. She has worked closely with health improvement leaders in many countries across the world to bring about global improvements to our health and social care systems.

Mary has held positions with national government and nfp health care and social welfare services, including women’s and community health services, healthdirect Australia, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in South Australia, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation and Health Workforce Australia.

In 2016 Mary was awarded a Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Social Change Fellowship. This enabled Mary to travel throughout Europe and the US meeting with leaders who are committed to creating a more compassionate healthcare system. From this Compassion Revolution was born.

Mary has been the Executive Producer of five international Compassion Revolution Conferences and has built deep connections with compassion practitioners all over the world.

In 2021 Mary published her book Compassion Revolution: *Start Now; *Use What You Have *Keep Going.

Mary was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation—Bellagio Centre Residency in February 2025 to support her to design a Radical Compassion Seed Bank.