Get to know Dr. Mary Tatum

A get-to-know you letter from Dr. Tatum.

Hello!

I will never forget the moment I was appointed to Clearfield County Commissioner. I was filled with various emotions covering vast excitement, awe, amazement, and an incredible responsibility. At that moment, I knew that for at least the next 13 months I would be able to use my voice to help the 80,000 citizens of Clearfield County. During those moments, I felt and still feel incredibly humbled to be a Commissioner for Clearfield County. Throughout my career, I have spent most of my time working with children, adolescents, and some adults in the helping field. For the last seven years of my career, I have spent being the Director of the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County. During that time, I developed strong relationships with the Multidisciplinary Team of Clearfield County. I learned that the investigators, prosecutors, advocates, medical professionals, and mental health professionals worked together to ensure that child victims of abuse and maltreatment were offered paths to healing and justice.

The work of the County Commissioner provides me the ability to assist in advocating for what is best for the citizens of Clearfield County. Before, I only used my voice to advocate for children; now, my voice used to advocate for everyone. The experience continues to keep me humble. When I was appointed Commissioner, I knew that if I wanted to do this work longer than a year, I’d need to run for election. After just a few weeks in office, I knew I’d need to run for election because the work of a Commissioner is good work that can help to improve the lives of those within the county.

As I continue on this campaign trail, I hope to meet as many of the people of Clearfield County as possible. I also realize that I may only get to meet some of you, and some of you will learn about me from my website and Facebook Posts. I wanted to introduce myself to anyone willing to read this post.

My name is Dr. Mary Tatum, and when I was five years old, my family moved to Coalport. I grew up in Coalport and graduated in 2002 from Glendale Jr./Sr—High School. I attended Penn State, where I studied Human Development and Family Studies and earned my Bachelor of Science in 2006. I attended Capella University, where I graduated with a Master of Public Administration (I’d tell you the year- but I never remember and would have to check my diploma). Then I earned my Doctorate in Public Administration in 2022. I studied rural property blight and the underlying causes of it, and possible solutions.

During my career, I started out working with adults with Autism at a group home. The individuals I helped care for would have lived in institutions if group homes did not exist. After that job, I went on to be a bartender. I learned a lot about people during that time and met some incredible people during this job. Once I graduated college, I went on to be a Therapeutic Support Staff (TSS), and I worked one on one with children with various mental health diagnoses. The kiddos I worked with were just kids learning how to be people and navigating life the best they could; while they were in school, I helped them manage their behaviors in ways that would help them succeed. The goal of a TSS is to work yourself out of a job. It was enriching, and I had much fun doing the work.

The following job I found was as a Site Coordinator for afterschool programs in a school district in Clearfield County. The afterschool programs stole my heart, I learned that I loved working with teenagers, and I knew that everyone I met would be awesome adults. Those kids made me so proud! I went on to work in the adoption and foster care field, where I learned about how severe child abuse was throughout Pennsylvania, and it was the first time I felt my heart broken by my work. But it was also the first time I helped kids and families find healing, which was incredibly rewarding. I went on to be an Outpatient Therapist for a little bit and found there were better positions for me. Some of you may wonder how I had all these jobs. Most of my earlier employment was part-time, and I would work two or three positions simultaneously to equal a full-time job. When the afterschool program was ending due to a decrease in funding for the project, I knew I had to find another job.

I went on to be part of an administrative team running a mental health program. I met many wonderful people during that time, but the job wasn’t something I wanted to do forever. The position at the CAC came open, and I decided to apply. I appreciated the work of law enforcement from growing up in a law enforcement/corrections family. I understood child abuse from my work in adoption and foster care; I understood the importance of mental health providers from working within the mental health field, and I knew how to run teams from various jobs. I was over the moon when I got the job. That was in 2016, and flash forward seven years, and I still love the work.

I have had many people ask me why I decided to apply for the appointment of Clearfield County Commissioner. When it was announced that only two people had applied for the position- I did some quick math and realized that my current reach at the CAC was about 800 people a year. When I did the math for County Commissioner, my reach could be about 80,000 people a year! The math was simple enough, and one thing I always do is to do as much good as I am able, and I applied.

A little bit more about me, I am married, and my husband and I have a blended family. We have three great kids, and I value their privacy, so I won’t write about them anymore. I have a dog named Gwen (named after Lady Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur) and three cats named Rajesh, Pryia, and Bernadette- my husband and I are “Big Bang Theory” fans!

I go to church and enjoy singing in the choir. I still attend the same church I grew up in. I love the people there, and practicing my faith has been a wonderful experience.

Let me tell you about some things I like: music, reading, coffee, good food, hiking, walking, visiting with friends, meaningful conversations, animals, and driving high-mileage vehicles- the highest mileage I have ever gotten is 295,000 miles! My goal is to get a car to 500,000 miles!

If you’re still reading this, I also appreciate you! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this entire post. On May 16, 2023, if you live in Clearfield County and are registered to vote- I’d appreciate your vote to be your Clearfield County Commissioner!

If you want to help my campaign consider liking my Mary Tatum, Clearfield County Commissioner Facebook Page (@Commissionertatum), share my posts, and like the content!

God Bless & Lots of Love,

Mary Tatum