Mary Gemignani
Education Programs
Mary was a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1967-69 in Klay, Bomi County. She served as an elementary school teacher and worked in a health clinic. The experience introduced her to the field of education and today she is an adjunct professor at Northern Vermont University teaching education courses and supervising student teachers. Before teaching at the university level, she worked as the director of private early education school and in public education as a classroom teacher. Later, Mary earned a master’s degree in special education and coordinated services for children with special needs at an elementary school where she was also the assistant principal.
Mary had the opportunity to study education as a Fulbright-Hays summer scholar in South Africa, received a Keizai Koho Center Fellowship from the Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs, and taught in China for a semester. In 2014, she and another RPCV led a group of college students on a service trip to Liberia. This trip inspired her to reconnect with FOL and she quickly became member of the education working group.
Mary holds a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology, a Master of Education, a Certificate of Advanced Study, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy. She and her husband were married in Liberia. They currently live in Vermont where they raised four children.