Mary C. Parker (she/her/hers) is a Black woman raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Living in the Southern United States showed Mary how interracial collaboration and dialogue across differences can lead to justice.
Mary believes bias informs the oppression we cause to others and ourselves. By deepening our awareness of the biases we carry, we can then begin to dismantle oppression.
Mary is inspired to leave the world better than she found it. She does this through the often difficult work of race equity because she wants to live in a world that humanizes young Black boys and Black girls where their joy isn't dimmed by racial injustice. Mary’s commitment to justice led her to found Just Collaboration in 2015, a business informed by scholarly research that utilizes play and games to add levity in unlearning bias and dismantling racial oppression. Just Collaboration provides services of coaching, consulting, speaking, and playshops rooted in a praxis of applied improvisation, dialogue facilitation, theatre of the oppressed, and playback theater.
As an independent scholar, Mary has researched and published on identity, comedy, and structural racism and taught as an Instructor and Special Visiting Faculty at Drama conservatories at Higher Education Institutions. As a performer, Mary has performed in international improv festivals in Edinburgh and played on London, Pittsburgh, and Portland-based improv teams.
Through her scholarship, public service, and consulting work, Mary has supported over 8,000 students, education administrators, and communities across 4 continents. Mary has been recognized as a Say Hey! Honoree, Dignity, and Respect Campaign Champion, and a Get Involved, Inc. Western PA Rising Star.
Mary holds a Masters in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and a Bachelor's in Sociology with a minor in Ethics from Emory University. She is also a credentialed International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Coach through Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business and is a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) through the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH).
Mary currently resides in Portland, OR. More about Mary and her work can be found on her website, www.marycparker.com.
Education
Academic
Certifications and Professional Associations
Comedic Training
Master of Arts - Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Bachelor of Arts - Emory University
Primarily trained in improv comedy in Pittbsurgh, PA at Arcade Comedy Theatre and Unplanned Comedy. Mary has taken masterclasses with Becky Drysdale, Cédric Marschal, Devin Bockrath, Susan Harrison, Tamara Blue Cavell-Allette, Chris Condren, Marcy Jarreau, North Coast, AJ McCombs, Ti Coleman, T.J. Mannix, Jimmy Carrane, Laura and Rick Hall.
