Mary Brownback is the current First Lady of Kansas who has been in office since January 20, 2011 as her husband, Sam Brownback, succeeded Mark Parkinson as Governor of Kansas. Mary is also a business and JD degree holder from the University of Kansas.
Early Life and Education
Born and raised in Kansas City by father John and mother Ruth Stauffer, Mary Brownback completed early education at a local high school. Then, she joined the University of Kansas for a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Mary went on to earn a Juris Doctorate degree from the same university.
Personal Life
Mary Brownback is married to Sam Brownback since 1982. The couple has five children: Abby, Jenna, Elizabeth, Mark and Andy Brownback.
Mary likes watching basketball and is a fan of her hometown team, Kansas Jayhawks.
Career
As Brownback graduated from the law school at the University of Kansas, she joined the office of David Prager as a law clerk. Having worked there for a few years, Mary utilized her business administration degree to enter First National Bank of Manhattan. After several gradual promotions, Mary Brownback became vice president and trust officer. At some point, Brown was also in the Trust Marketing Department of Merchants National Bank.
Despite reputable degrees on her wall, Mary Brownback stopped working after giving birth to her eldest child. Instead, she started volunteering in numerous organizations such as Topeka for United Way, Junior League of Topeka, Red Cross of Topeka and Meals on Meals. Besides these organizations, Brownback was also a well-known volunteer in kids’ schools and church.
Mary Brownback’s aspirations and motivation are mainly reflected in her work in Building Families Fund. Running this organization for years, Brownback has advocated for child adoption – whether it be domestic or international. Moreover, Building Families Fund has incentivised adoption by providing financial grants to people. Interestingly, two of Mary’s children – Mark (Guatemala) and Jenna (China) were also adopted.
In January 2011, Mary Brownback founded the Kansas Book Festival Fund which is aimed at improving the literacy rate in Kansas. The fund also provides grants to school and public libraries. In 2016, Mary announced a total fund of $9262 for 6 public libraries and 11 schools i.e. a total of 17 school and public libraries. The fund is supported by corporate and private sponsors. Likewise, she is also an active supporter of the health sector.
Donald Trump and Mary Brownback
Just like many other state First Ladies, Mary Brownback also doesn’t have any direct link to US President Donald Trump. However, her husband and Kansas Governor agrees with Trump on many political and economic issues.
