Academic Advisor, Professional Advising
Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Health Careers & Craft Brewing

Mary grew up on an 80 acre dairy farm in a tiny, yet quite historical, southwest Washington town called Skamokawa (/skʌˈmɑːkəˌweɪ/).  Natural beauty surrounded her in a community intricately interwoven with the natural environment since dairy farming, logging and gillnet salmon fishing were primary industries.  Early in life she developed a fascination with complexities of the human experience within the local and global environment, illuminated starkly when the 1980’s Northern Spotted Owl Controversy tore through her tight knit town.

At age 14 Mary received the Harriet Broughton Bishop Scholarship to board and attend Annie Wright School, an all-girls college preparatory high school located in Tacoma, Washington.  Girls from around the state, country and world lived and learned together, developing her enduring love for the educational experience; but also there, she became acutely aware of the complex relationships to food that many individuals develop due to various social pressures.

Mary is a Certified Nutritionist in Washington State, serves on the Student Advisory Committee to CWU Dining Services and on the CWU Presidents United Solving Hunger (PUSH) Executive Committee. She also serves as a Lecturer for the CWU Health Sciences Department instructing in the area of Food Science & Nutrition. 
Currently, Mary advises students and supports the following colleges at CWU:
Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Health Careers, Craft Brewing

Education:
MS Nutrition, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
BS Food Science & Nutrition: Dietetics, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
BAS Food Service Management, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
AAS General Transfer, Lower Columbia College, Longview, WA

Research:
Beverage Selections and Impact on Healthy Eating Index Scores in Elementary Children’s Lunches from School and From Home,
            -The Journal of Child Nutrition Management, Spring 2016
School Lunch Quality Following Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Implementation,
            -The Journal of Child Nutrition Management, Spring 2016
School Lunch Quality Following Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Implementation,
            -School Nutrition Association, Annual National Conference, 2015
Demographic Differences Affect Beverage Selection and Presence in School Lunches,
            - School Nutrition Association, Annual National Conference, 2014
Nutrition Contribution of Snacks and Sweets to Elementary School Lunches,
            - School Nutrition Association, Annual National Conference, 2014

Favorite Quotes:
It is not good to cross a bridge before you get to it.  ― Dame Judi Dench

You cannot find peace by avoiding life.   ― Virginia Woolf

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’  ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?
― L.M. Montgomery (Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables)

To make an appointment, email @ Mary.CairnsPark@cwu.edu