Pendergast has been involved in her rural Kensington area/North Shore community all her life.

In earlier years, she was a Board Member with the East Prince Business Development Centre, on the Parish Council of St.Mary’s/Holy Family Parish, Chair of the Kensington Area Community Development Association, Founding Board Chair of the Indian River Festival, and Board Chair of the Watermark Theatre.

Pendergast has received several awards for community development work, the most memorable being the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, both in recognition of community development efforts.

Mary Pendergast’s career has primarily been as an educator, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University, an Honours Arts Degree from University of Guelph, and a Master’s Degree in Literacy Education from Mount St. Vincent University.

Following several years raising her four children, she taught for 20 years in the Unit 2/Western School Board, primarily in English Language Arts and Social Studies. Pendergast participated in extensive curriculum development work provincially, in Language Arts, Law, and Drama, and for the Atlantic Provinces Education Council (APEC). The Language Arts curriculum outcomes (K-12) developed by APEC became the Canadian standard, and she then worked with Pearson Education writing a Grade 10 Language Arts textbook based on the APEC curriculum outcomes and adopted by several provinces across Canada.

Following her years teaching at KISH, Pendergast taught communications/report writing and research skills at the college level in the Middle East for three years.

Mary’s community work has been as a member of the Heritage and Education committee for the Benevolent Irish Society, and with the Parish Council of St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish, where she also has been church organist for many years.

Since 2014, Pendergast has been employed full-time as a Board Member of the Parole Board of Canada, work she describes as always inspiring and interesting. The role of the Parole Board in Canada’s criminal justice system is crucial for public safety, and, as a Board Member, she has learned much about the role of parole in the reintegration of offenders into society, the legislation and policies of the Board, and the ongoing work and effort to address issues surrounding conditional release for women, Indigenous peoples, African Canadians, and other marginalized individuals.

Mary is happy to come to the table as a Board Member of the PEI Alliance for Mental Well-Being.