Vice President, Ann Green Communications, Inc.
LinkedIn: Mary Green
Website: www.anngreencomm.com
By Katlin Swisher
Growing up on a farm in rural Lincoln County, Ann Green Communications Vice President Mary Green always yearned to be in school. “Life there was slow, and summers seemed to last forever because there was little to do,” she says. “As a result, I loved school.”
Her parents taught her the values of honesty, integrity, hard work and education, but it was her brother, Roger, who passed away at the age of 44, who had the biggest influence on her. “With Roger, there was never an excuse for not taking care of responsibilities and commitments,” she remembers. “He lit the fire beneath me. We were the first generation of college graduates in our family. With my family, the question was never ‘if.’ It was ‘where.’”
Today, Green is a nationally recognized consultant in conflict resolution and stakeholder relations. She has 28 years of experience in public relations, from grassroots efforts to interacting with congressional leaders, and her client list includes some of the biggest names in industry. Throughout her career, she has assisted industry and the communities where they operate in seeking to build relationships and increase sustainability.
The passion for and importance of education instilled in her during her childhood encourages her to extend those same types of opportunities to West Virginia’s youth. Over the course of her life, Green has strived to make where she lives and works better by advocating for families and children, bringing people together and improving life in their communities. She has helped develop hands-on science programs for local schools and guide industry-community partnerships to provide grants to enhance STEM education. This work led her to serve on the Charleston Area Alliance’s Vision 2030 committee for industry and education.
Green has chaired several successful fundraisers for her daughter’s school, with one topping $100,000. She has served as an honor host for the YMCA’s Spirit of the Valley campaign and continues to serve on the organization’s membership and marketing committee. She has provided support to educate numerous communities, schools, churches and daycare centers on emergency preparedness and how to properly shelter in place. Her volunteer efforts have also benefited Union Mission, the YWCA’s Shanklin Center and Manna Meal.
She recognizes the importance of reading in the education of West Virginia’s youth, and she is an active Read Aloud volunteer. She sits on the outreach committee at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, where she helped develop a summer reading program for Oakwood Terrace Apartments and a backpack food program for the local elementary school. An advocate for the arts, she has volunteered with the West Virginia Youth Symphony and Coda Mountain Academy and worked with the former Seneca Chamber Orchestra’s children’s program to expose local youth to classical music. She has been a member of the West Virginia Symphony League, volunteered at Symphony Sunday and ushered for the symphony’s school concerts at the Clay Center. She blended her love of tennis and giving back as a volunteer at the YMCA during Tennis Across America, a national program designed to increase youth participation in the sport.
This year, she and her family are spearheading the new Read to Me, Please project. Founded in 2016, the program seeks to share the love of reading with children who have been displaced due to domestic issues. “I came from an area where few had a chance to be successful, and I have been blessed,” she says. “My parents worked hard to give us a foundation from which to launch. I am grateful for that and want to bring that to others.”
Although Green once dreamed of being a “Solid Gold” dancer or a congressional aide, today she considers her greatest accomplishment being named partner and successor of Ann Green, the president of Ann Green Communications. “I am honored to be involved in taking our company into the future,” she says. “We just celebrated 25 years. We have a great opportunity in front of us, and I look forward to our golden anniversary.”
1988 – Completed an internship at Union Carbide Corporation
1991 – Worked as a Lincoln Journal newspaper reporter
1992 – Studied Language at the Goethe Institut in Germany
1993 – Began work at Ann Green Communications, Inc.
1994 – Facilitated her first community advisory panel
2002 – Became a mother
2005 – Began volunteering with local children’s music programs
2006 – Began volunteering with children’s education
2013 – Became business development director at Ann Green Communications
2014 – Appointed to the YMCA board of directors
2016 – Named vice president and partner of Ann Green Communications and established the Read to Me, Please Project
