Mary Jo moved to Washington, DC intending to stay two years and ended up living in the Washington area permanently. Living in the District fired her already deep interest in American history and after a successful career in journalism and public relations she earned a master’s degree in American history from George Mason University in 2003. Since then she has devoted herself to making American history accessible to popular audience using the resources of the District to tell America’s story. Her career as a historian includes stints as an editor at The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project and director of the oral history program at the Women in Military Service to America Memorial Foundation. She has also published numerous popular articles on African-American history, women’s history, the Civil War and World War II.