Mary Watson Avery is the Director of Connected Beginnings Training Institute, a program of the UMass Donahue Institute. Mary’s career has focused on work with children birth to 8 years, building nurturing environments in family services and early childhood practitioner professional development. Her special interests include the support of very young children at risk; the development of trauma-sensitive learning environments; effective parent engagement; best practice in coaching across settings; and the mentoring of early childhood trainers.

With substantial experience in developing curriculum, planning professional development, as well as coaching and mentoring groups and individuals, Mary is a well-respected educator across the Commonwealth and the region. In addition to training on a wide variety of topics related to the social emotional well-being on very young children and their families, Mary is a master trainer in all aspects of Pyramid Model implementation, including Train-the-Trainer, Train-the-Coach, Program-Wide Implementation and the Pyramid Model Family Modules.

In addition to her many years as an early childhood educator, Mary has taught at Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Wheelock College. She also served as the Director of Family Connections, a community mental health outreach program targeting parental depression, based at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Mary earned a MS in Infant & Toddler Studies from Wheelock College with additional training in trauma-informed practices at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Mary also earned a BFA in Studio Art from Manhattanville College.

Mary can be reached via phone at 774-455-7366 or our contact form.

Catherine Wakely, B.S. | Data and Instructional Technology Manager

Catherine Wakely is the Data and Instructional Technologies Manager for Connected Beginnings. Her expertise includes Salesforce, website administration, and data management.
Catherine earned a B.S. in Animal Science from The University of Maine where she also worked for several years as an IT support consultant. She has also worked as an operations coordinator at Sun Life Financial.
Catherine can be reached via phone at 774-455-7368 or our contact form.