Mary Richards

Mary Richards is a retired health and physical education teacher who is still involved in the classroom. She has always had a passion for wellness and a desire to motivate others, especially her students, towards self-improvement. The majority of Mary’s career was spent in the middle-school classroom. In addition to being in the classroom, Mary has coached kids in sports and directed plays. During her career she launched dance teams, jump rope teams, weight-loss clubs, a drug-free club, a community health fair, a pet fair, and a self-esteem club, Feeling Good.

Born and raised in Oregon, Mary spent her early years in North Bend. She received her BS and MS degrees from the University of Oregon in Eugene. Her teaching career included assignments in Bandon, Coos Bay, Springfield, and Salem, Oregon; and Caracas, Venezuela. Wherever she has been, helping kids improve their self-esteem has been her number one priority.

Mary enjoys spending time with family and friends, helping her sweetheart build a log cabin, playing the piano, singing karaoke, going to the gym, driving her 1968 VW bug, writing a wellness blog (The Fit Optimist), fishing, traveling, volunteering and playing table tennis. She has also amassed a pretty impressive Pez collection. Mary can be reached at: awesomeworkbook@gmail.com .