Maureen is originally from Massachusetts, where she obtained her BS in Education from Boston State College. She held various jobs, including teaching academically gifted children. She, her husband, and their five children moved to Swannanoa in 1988, when her husband, a precision diamond toolmaker, was transferred for work to Arden, NC. After moving here, Maureen was hired as an interim teacher for a fourth‐grade class at WD Williams Elementary.

Four months later, she was hired to teach third grade at Haw Creek Elementary, and in 1995, she began teaching second grade. Maureen retired in 2012 after 21 years in the teaching field. She has been active in the Swannanoa community for many years, coordinating the annual Swannanoa Sweep Community Cleanup since 2007. She also helps co-manage the Swannanoa Community Garden, and spends “many wonderful hours” babysitting for her six grandchildren.