Mary was a volunteer at the Future Worlds Center (FWC) in 2007. She joined the FWC as an exchange student from Portland State University (PSU) between October 2006 and November 2006. During this period, she worked on the collaborative project between FWC and PSU, assisted with the organization of several conferences and planned events, including a Youth Encounters of Peace (YEP) event. She also worked on developing a document to guide students’ future research projects at FWC, which focus on documenting and evaluating the work of peace pioneers in Cyprus during the decade of 1994-2004. Her experience at the FWC was instrumental for her achieving a better understanding of why the situation in Cyprus is so complex. Mary holds a Masters degree from Portland State University (USA).