Mary Kay Smith homeschooled for more than thirty-two years, teaching her own three children successfully from preschool to college and later other children for families who were dealing with serious sickness. She works as a developmental editor for several organizations and authors and writes and produces original educational discovery programs for organizations and schools around the world. She has created over fifty programs for groups of fifteen to more than 400 in seven countries. She has edited The Virginia Home Educator magazine since 2003, written and published magazine articles on various educational topics, and published the photo-essay book Penny Thoughts for the Homeschooler and the memoir Wings Over Zululand.
Mary Kay grew up in South Africa and writes from her Africa-themed office in Northern Virginia.