Mary Wesley

Director of Education and Media

Mary studied Anthropology at McGill University, then returned to her native Vermont to work as a field archaeologist for the UVM Consulting Archaeology Program. After falling in love with the New England folk music and dance scene Mary learned to teach and call traditional contra and square dancing (building on the legacy of her grandparents, who were both square dance callers in their hometown of Middlebury, VT). She has taught and performed in schools, community centers, grange halls and at festivals and camps throughout Vermont and across the U.S. and Canada. Mary attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies to learn radio production and Multimedia Storytelling. In collaboration with the Country Dance and Song Society, she helped conceive and manage a community storytelling project, collecting oral histories in traditional dance and music communities around New England. She has worked with other Vermont non-profit organizations including Young Tradition Vermont and the Wake Up to Dying Project to create opportunities for community education and engagement. Mary was an intern with Vermont Folklife in 2009 and in 2013 returned as the manager for the New Neighbors Music Project. She now direct VT Folklife’s educational and outreach programming and helps coordinate the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Mary is also the producer and host of VT Untapped, VT Folklife’s own podcast that explores the state through the voices of its own residents.