Mary Lara is the 2025 recipient of the Carolyn Warner Legacy Award given by the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF®) in partnership with the Warner family.

Ms. Lara has been a dedicated educator for nearly 50 years, starting in 1978 as a kindergarten teacher and continuing through her current work with Northern Arizona University and the NASA/NAU Space Grant Office as the American Indian Mobil Educational Resources (AIMER) coordinator in Northern Arizona.  For most of her career, Mary worked in the Flagstaff Unified School district, where she taught elementary school for nearly 40 years (kindergarten through 3rd and 5th grade), was an elementary librarian and finished as the Career Ladder coordinator before retiring in 2016.

In 2003, when she was named an AEF Ambassador for Excellence as a finalist for the Arizona Teacher of the Year Award, she headed up a project to build Walker Observatory at DeMiguel Elementary School. The project involved building a full-scale observatory to house a 16” refracting telescope built by Kenneth Walker. Mary still hosts Star Parties and solar observing sessions for FUSD schools and continues to co-sponsor the Astronomy Club at DeMiguel Elementary School.

In her current role as the AIMER coordinator, Mary travels to Northern Arizona (and sometimes New Mexico) tribal schools to present hands-on STEM lessons.  She also sets up Family Science Nights and hosts community star parties.  Additionally, she assists with Astronomy Nights (as Astrono-Mary) at Camp Colton (FUSD’s outdoor environmental education center) and St. Joseph’s Camp (a Knights of Columbus camp near Mormon Lake).  She also assists with monthly star parties at Yavapai Lodge at the Grand Canyon.  Recently she assisted with solar observing for the Heard Museum’s Free Family Summer Saturday.  Mary also participates in the Flagstaff STEM celebration and Flagstaff’s Science in the Park.

 Mary received her BS in Early Childhood Education and her MA in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University.  She is a past board member of the Council for Elementary Science International and past president of Arizona Science Teachers Association.  She was a co-developer for a Unit of Study in connection with the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Mission.  She has attended NASA Space Academy and flown aboard the zero-G plane.  She is a Solar System Ambassador through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.

Her awards include the Air Force Association Aerospace Education Foundation Teacher of the Year, State Finalist for the 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, CESI/Ciba (Council for Elementary Science International/Ciba Chemicals Corporation) Exemplary Elementary Science Teacher, ReliaStar and Northern Life Unsung Heroes, and most recently the Creative Flagstaff Viola for Excellence in Education.