Biography

      Mary T. Finneran is a proud lifelong Upstate New Yorker. Raised in Painted Post in the Southern Tier, she has lived in Western New York, Central New York, the Delaware River Valley, and the Hudson River Valley. She currently lives in Cairo with her husband and several rescued cats. Mary has always been in love with the natural beauty and wildlife of New York State.
      An artist by vocation, and trained as a welder, she was a union welder in Syracuse when her corporate employer outsourced her job to Mexico. Taking advantage of a federal program for such workers, Mary chose at that point to attend Syracuse University (SU) for Art Education, and graduated summa cum laude [highest honors]. She taught high school art in Chittenango for two years before returning to SU for her MFA in Ceramics. After receiving her degree, she taught art for twenty-five years: in Chautauqua, Sullivan, and Greene county public schools. She was especially active in her union while teaching at Coxsackie-Athens High School for the last 15 years of her career.  Mary has served on the Cairo Library Board for five years and was the President of the Cairo Democrats for two years.  

      Her abiding love of the countryside, hills and waters of New York led her to become an environmental organizer, lobbyist, and volunteer for several groups, including the Sierra Club. She has also been very concerned about people marginalized by poverty and the inequities inherent in society and has volunteered for social justice groups. Most recently she has been working to counter the climate crises. Mary plans to make a difference for the people effecting change via legislation.