Directory Profile

Mara is a Senior Public Service Associate at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, where she coordinates various strategic initiatives on behalf of the institute and the director’s office. Her most recent position at the Institute prior to her retirement from full-time service was serving as the Associate Director for the Governmental Training, Education, and Development Division, where she oversaw all training curriculum, delivery, and evaluation for more than 5,000 local and state government officials. She has more than 25 years of experience in local government, primarily in the areas of administration, downtown and community development, code enforcement and local government planning.

Before joining the Institute of Government in 2013, Mara served as the assistant to the city manager with the City of Valdosta. She was named the 2005 Sen. Loyce Turner Outstanding Public Official by Valdosta State University and received the Department of Community Affairs Outstanding Leadership Award in 2006. Mara was honored with the Candle in the Dark award in 2014 for her government and community service by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Association. She was a 2020 recipient of the Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia. Most recently, she was a recipient of the 2025 Leadership Development Advocate of the Year award presented by ACCG and she was inducted into the 2025 Class of the Municipal Hall of Fame by the Georgia Municipal Association.