Sister Mary E. Tracy, SNJM, is the President and Head of School at Eastside Catholic.
She officially joined the school in March 2010 and brings more than 35 years of Catholic school leadership to her position. Originally from Spokane, Sister Mary is nationally recognized and highly regarded by her peers locally and across the country for her work in private and Catholic school education. A member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM), she is well known in the Northwest and in the Seattle Archdiocese for her 20 years of leadership and service as Dean of Students and Principal of Holy Names Academy in Seattle from 1975-1995. She has spent the last 15 years working at the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) in Washington, DC most recently as the NCEA Director of Advancement Services, where she provided consulting services to hundreds of schools across the nation. Sister Mary holds an M.A. in Literature from the University of Washington and received her undergraduate degree from Fort Wright College in Spokane, Washington.
“Sister Mary’s extraordinary service and spiritual leadership in Catholic education is unparalleled,” said Dan Ivanoff, President of the Board of Trustees for Eastside Catholic School. “She is a highly respected individual with proven leadership success, exemplary academic credentials, experience building highly competitive and diverse athletic programs, strong financial management and unmatched fundraising expertise.”
Sister Mary was recognized by the NCEA in 1993 as one of six national award recipients for “Extraordinary Success in School Leadership.” In 1995, she was honored with the Mary G. Taylor Outstanding Educator Award in Seattle. Civic involvement and volunteering are an integral part of Sister Mary’s personal mission. In 2005, she spent time in Lesotho, South Africa, studying the feasibility of schools acquiring Internet access. She was instrumental in the networking and fundraising efforts to successfully bring Internet to schools in Lesotho. She returned in 2009 and spent three weeks working alongside volunteers to construct a new school building.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the vibrant community of Eastside Catholic and build on the strong foundation created by my predecessors,” said Sister Mary Tracy.