Dr. Mary Iiames has been serving as Winebrenner’s Interim Chief Academic Officer (CAO) since September 2023. We are all incredibly grateful for her contribution to Winebrenner during this season of transition. Upon the hiring of our new CAO (you can learn more about that announcement by clicking here) Mary will return to her role as a full-time faculty member and be the academic leader of our Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) program. You can read more about Mary below:
Mary first came to Winebrenner as an adjunct professor in the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling program. In May 2017, she joined the seminary as a full-time faculty member. She stated, “When the opportunity arose to join Winebrenner in the MACC program, I thought to myself, ‘This is my dream job!’ The opportunity to teach counseling courses and include faith and Biblical truths was a dream come true.”
Mary was raised in Bluffton, Ohio. She went to Bluffton High School and Bluffton College, majoring in mathematics and education. She began her career life as a high school math teacher at Perry High School in Lima. She then went to Bowling Green State University and graduated with an M.Ed. in guidance and counseling. She was the freshman class counselor at Perrysburg High School for one year before returning to Perry Schools to be an elementary school counselor. She completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Toledo in 2000. She continued to work as a school counselor but also taught as an adjunct professor for the University of Toledo and the University of Dayton.
For six years, Mary was bi-vocational. She was a school counselor at Perry Elementary School and a MACC professor. She stated, “Working two full-time jobs was A LOT. I could not have done it without the help and support of my family, and of course, by the grace of God!” Mary retired from Perry Schools on July 1, 2023, after working in Ohio public schools for 34 years. She said, “Working in public schools was such a blessing. I learned so much about policies, procedures, diversity, collaboration, commitment, and flexibility. I often say that the Perry community and schools raised me right.”
“I am excited to focus my full attention on Winebrenner and the MACC program. I love the students and the work that we do to prepare them for a future in which they will help those who are hurting. I always tell students that they will be amazing counselors because they will have the advantage of bringing the Great Counselor into each and every session. When you give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work through you and in you, amazing things happen!”
Mary and her husband Jeff have been married for 30 years and live in Lima, Ohio. Their daughter Brooklyn is a nurse in the Ohio State Health Network and recently married Christian Sauer. They reside in Columbus with their fur babies. Their daughter Riley is an intervention specialist at Cridersville Elementary School. Riley is currently working on her master’s degree in special education with the hopes of becoming a Certified Academic Language Therapist. “And last, but certainly not least, the baby of the family, Lulu, is a 7-year-old miniature poodle. Her only aspirations are to eat and sleep.”