Mary Treacy

Mary Treacy

Please check out my blog at:http://marytreacy.wordpress.com One time librarian and former executive director of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information I am currently a very happy independent consultant exploring untold options. My passion is to contribute the bit I am able to an informed and engaged community in which everyone's story can be told - and heard. This means using a dynamic array of media - newspapers, websites, television, radio, social media and whatever comes on line tomorrow. It means being willing to plumb the depths of a story - and it means having the courtesy, if not the intellectual curiosity, to learn from others. My sons are both enmeshed in the information maze. Rick Birmingham is the Manager of IT Services at MAP for Nonprofits. Steve Birmingham works his magic on the public access terminals in Hennepin County Library. Grandson Will Birmingham, 19 months, loves food, slides, puddles and books - in that order. A graduate of what was then the College of St. Catherine I went on to get a MS in Library Science. Truth to tell, I didn't work in real libraries that much, but I did work 18 years as Director of Metronet, a collaboration of nearly 600 public, academic, corporate, medical, school and other libraries and information services in the TC's. In recent years I've worked in a number of consulting positions, most notably the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministries Foundation. As a hapless volunteer I've worked with a host of nonprofits including the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information, Learning in Style, the DFL Education Foundation, the Village Farmers Market among others. I've also written several pieces for TCDP. In recent weeks I've been joined the throngs of scribe wannabes by launching my own little blog called Poking Around With Mary - because poking around is what I do a good deal of the time.

International Year of Family Farming – What it’s about, why it matters

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | April 6, 2014

For Minnesotans the true Rite of Spring is planting season – even if the experience is remembered or vicarious. Planting season with real farmers on real tractors with genetically un-modified seeds, rotated crops and other practices that promote sustainable agricultural systems. Happily, nostalgia is giving way to reality as urban farming, farm to home, and farmers market programs and locavore cuisine raise the profile of family farming and the role that family farmers play in growing nutritious food to feed a hungry world — while protecting the environment and preserving the land. Continue Reading

“Rejoice the Legacy!”: Andrea Davis Pinkney delivers 2014 Arbuthnot lecture May 3

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | April 4, 2014

Born in Washington, DC in 1963 Andrea Davis Pinkney was an infant during the Civil Rights Movement, this year celebrating its 50^th anniversary. And yet she tells the stories of those days with beauty and passion – in words and pictures that communicate with children of today. Today Pinkney is a highly regarded writer, editor and publisher, creator of stories that bring deeper understanding of African American heritage to young readers. Continue Reading

Hot Dish Revolution rocks Northeast Minneapolis

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | April 1, 2014

Residents of Northeast Minneapolis, especially the Holland Neighborhood, shared a knowing nod last week when the mainstream media heralded the fact that Representative Tim Walz (1^st Congressional District) took first place honors at the Minnesota Hotdish competition. This is the fourth annual competition initiated by Senator Al Franken “as a way to give members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation a chance to mingle without the usual political sniping.” Continue Reading

Leadership, local economy and lunch shape Farm to School curriculum

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | March 25, 2014

Poking around is a persistent addiction. Though the geography and focus shift with time, exploring new terrain simply expands the possibilities. Thus, in my quest to spread the share the message of open government, I have had the privilege to meet with scores of great people who are doing amazing work on issues that include sustainable agriculture, the rural economy, the environment, children’s health, food safety, family farms, ethnic diversity — always looking for the open government thread that runs through just about everything – once you start looking for it. Continue Reading

Capitol coders share open government ideas and apps

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | February 26, 2014

You can’t keep a good Minnesota activist down! Saturday’s Capitol Code, initiated by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, drew a public-spirited crowd of open government enthusiasts who braved the slipperiest streets in the hemisphere to share ideas, tools and apps. The free and open event at Uptown Cocoa was well organized by state staffers and Bill Bushey of OpenTC’s. The buzz of the worker bees at Uptown CoCo offered a lively take on the information chain at work as data and ideas flowed to and from policy makers, data producers, app developers and the public. Continue Reading

Exploring African American History Month – the government docs approach

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | February 17, 2014

Maya Angelou tells us that “history, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” And so, whether or not we slow down to think, we as a people set aside occasions – a day, a week, a month – to commemorate a the stories of the people, events, eras or movements that shape our nation’s history. Continue Reading

Ideas + influence inspire change – The challenge of International Women’s Day 2014

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | January 20, 2014

[Fighting] to give women and girls a fighting chance isn’t just a nice thing to do….It isn’t some luxury that we only get to when we have time on our hands. This is a core imperative for every human being in every society. If we do not continue the campaign for women’s rights and opportunities, the world we want to live in — and the country we all love and cherish — will not be what it should be. -Hillary Clinton Continue Reading

Open government – A global challenge with high stakes

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | January 7, 2014

How long shall we blunder along without the aid of unpartisan and authoritative scientific assistance in the administration of justice, no one knows; but all fair persons not conventionalized by provincial legal habits of mind ought, I should think, unite to effect some change. ~ Judge Learned Hand, judicial opinion rendered in 1911 Continue Reading

Thought for 2014: Government ought to be all outside and no inside

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | January 4, 2014

Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States on January 1, 1914, wrote these words a century ago: Continue Reading

Veterans Day 2013 – Making it real!

By Mary Treacy (Poking Around) | November 10, 2013

Veterans Day 2013 deserves special observance – for many reasons. For those who see the day to remember the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served this country, the day has historic and political significance. For others the fact that November 11 falls on Monday means another long weekend. Continue Reading

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