Mary Jo DeGrandi, MS, is a seasoned clinical and marketing professional with over 30 years of experience working to support individuals and families across a range of mental health treatment settings. Her extensive background includes clinical and leadership roles in residential programs, outdoor behavioral health, outpatient services, therapeutic boarding schools, and community-integrated care programs.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Mary Jo earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and English Literature from Fairfield University, where she became immersed in Jesuit principles of social justice, care of the whole person, contemplation, and being a person for others. Upon graduation, she moved to Alaska where she volunteered as a women and children’s advocate at a domestic violence shelter, and worked with native youth in residential treatment and experiential, outdoor-based programs.

Mary Jo returned to the East Coast to pursue her Master’s degree in Ecopsychology and Human Development from Antioch New England Graduate School. The focus of her graduate work, and on much of her subsequent career, has been on how connection with the natural world facilitates health and healing. She spent a decade in clinical roles, working in outdoor behavioral health and residential programs, where her focus was on relational and experiential modalities, DBT, and trauma-responsive treatment. Her passion for educating and supporting families in crisis led her into admissions, outreach and business development roles, and she thrives in connecting people with the resources they need to heal and thrive.

Mary Jo has called Vermont home for the past 20 years. She lives in a small mountain town with her husband, Troy, their children Archer and Mairen, young adult son Caleb, and their goofy chocolate labrador retriever, Princess Coco Bear. Their oldest adult son, Keegan, lives nearby. Mary Jo loves her daily walks in the woods with Coco, keeps a busy schedule of activities with the kids, and loves to surround herself with her big, loving Italian family, good friends, good books, her always-needs-more-tending gardens, creative projects and as much travel as she can manage.