About Mary

It might sound like I do three very different things:

🌱 Maintain gardens in San Francisco.

✏️ Write for brands and individuals.

🎱 Guide people through career decisions.

But, spoiler alert, they’re all the same:

I help people focus on what matters—in a garden, a story, or a career—and shape it into something that lasts.

I spent 10 years leading teams at startups:

  • Starting People Ops at Buffer

  • Growing Customer Support at Hipcamp

  • Building a marketing agency from scratch at Tuff

  • Leading the way with pay transparency at Nextmv

  • Guiding talent strategy at Elpha

  • & advising dozens of startups on getting People Ops right from the start

I was the go-to person when leaders needed structure, strategy, and a story people could understand and trust.

When I realized I wanted to grow something different, I ditched the hoodies for overalls.

I left tech, trained as a gardener, and started a residential garden maintenance company.

Now, I split my time between hands-on garden care, crafting honest and engaging content, and working 1:1 with people in the midst of career change.

Other places you can find me:

  • Volunteering in Golden Gate Park, restoring native habitat

  • Walking Wally, my street-snack obsessed dog

  • Writing Quite Contrary, reflections on careers and the natural world