Mary spoke about the power of art to change perceptions and perspectives, and art in public space. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, helped open the exhibition called "Disasters are Not Natural" alongside the UN General Assembly meeting “Working Together to Reduce Risk for a Resilient Future.”

April 2022, Mary participated in FotoFocus, a photography conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, she was part of a panel discussion questioning the relevance of discerning between a center and a remote location. Mary spoke about her research work specific to the photography supply chain, the parts of the camera, the mining, production, and distribution of the elements that make the camera, film, and paper she prints on, describing the interconnectivity of places surrounding the production of photography.

In March 2022, Mary lectured about several ecologically-focused artworks that function as a type of soft activism that bridge concerns and communities, as part of a week-long environmental art symposium. Mary spoke about bundling the objects in her possession into large sculptures and pulling them through New York City in absurd performances that emphasize the emotional weight of those objects. She spoke about spectacle, public performance, and art as a regenerative act.

In February 2022, Mary presented her artwork to students and faculty at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, for a lecture geared towards undergraduate and graduate students that took place over zoom. She described the importance of balancing public art projects with photography and storytelling.

In January 2022, Mary lectured at CalArts about ecological art projects as part of a curriculum that focused on imagined futures curriculum hosted by several faculty. Mary focused on co-creating regenerative culture through art, collective world-building, and talked in depth about specific projects, including the Flock House, Swale, Waterpod, Wading Bridge, and Pull in Havana.

Mary lectured about her community based, local art projects at Fordham University in March 2022. She focused on the Swale project, a floating food forest that docked near Fordham University at Concrete Plant Park and specific community groups she worked with in order to complete the project, as well as the effects the project had on New York City Park land. Mary also focused on the Waterpod project, a precursor to Swale, one that helped to identify many community groups.

In 2016 Mary spoke at Oxford University in the UK about photography and environmental public art, and the power of art. 

At the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia Mary spoke about her work with the US Department of State through a project called smArtpower, and how she facilitated the making of a collaborative sculpture based on a project called Wearable Portable Architecture. She also spoke about bundling the objects in her possession to make statements about her personal consumption and waste, and how to co-build meaningful actions in the world.

As part of Alaska Design Forum, Mary traveled to several cities and towns in Alaska including Anchorage at the Anchorage Museum, AK. Her lectures included public artworks such as Waterpod, Wetland, and Wearable Homes.

In 2014, with Art21s Jess Hamlin, Mary lectured at Harvard University Graduate School of Education on topics of arts-based research, public engagement and social practice in the arts, and looking towards art in the Anthropocene.