Mary Lilley-Thompson, an inspirational humorist, a laughter leader, author, and human being, is a graduate of Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a degree in Music Education, voice major, piano minor. She worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation a Fortune 100 company, in a high-powered male-dominated career, which culminated in her becoming an executive with WESCO, Westinghouse Electric Supply Company.

A nationally known professional speaker, Mary has more than 25 years experience and was noted as one of the “The Hottest Rising Speakers” in Adult Ed Today magazine.

Mary's careers range from teaching rhythm and movement at the Western Pennnsylvania School for the Deaf, and swimming to the physically challenged, at Camp Lend-A-Hand, an Easter Seal Camp, to being a director of community life at a continuous care retirement community, Kirkland Village, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mary taught music in the Penn Hills school district in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, along with teaching more than 45 private piano and voice students. She sang with the Pittsburgh Oratorio Society and created and directed the Beacon Choir of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley for a number of years.

She has a daughter, two stepsons, five grandchildren and two great granddaughters. Mary is retired and is a hospice volunteer end-of-life doula living in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania with her husband, Bill, and her cat, Meercat.