Mary McKnight is the school counselor at Ocracoke School, a unique PreK–12 school located on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. With over 14 years of experience in education, she has served in multiple leadership roles, including five years as an assistant administrator and four years as athletic director. Her work is driven by a commitment to student advocacy, career exploration, and expanding opportunities for hands-on learning.
Mary takes a highly engaged approach to counseling and career readiness, even holding a bus license so she can personally lead students on college visits and industry tours. Living and working in a coastal community, she has also developed a strong passion for education policy, particularly in the areas of disaster preparedness and recovery, ensuring that schools remain resilient in the face of natural disasters.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville and a master’s in School Counseling from East Tennessee State University. Outside of work, Mary enjoys life on Ocracoke Island with her wife, Alice, where their household is happily overrun with more animals than they ever planned for.