Mary is President/CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc. (SPI). Mary is also co-founder of the Gemini Global Group (G3), a firm that works with national and international clients on business development, P3s, and other types of government objectives.
A recognized expert regarding P3s, Mary is the author of Collaboration Nation – How Public-Private Ventures Are Revolutionizing the Business of Government and Inside the Infrastructure Revolution – A Roadmap for Rebuilding America. Her first book, Collaboration Nation, explores the growing trend of P3s and describes a number of best practices for successful projects, as well as the importance for both parties to respect the cultural differences of the other. While her newest work asks readers to look carefully at the cost of continuing to neglect public assets like roads, bridges, water resources, airports, electric grids, healthcare and educational facilities and points to their critical role in maintaining America’s global leadership position.
Mary writes for many publications and blogs weekly. Her articles have been published by media outlets including Forbes, CNBC.com, CEO-Read, Change This, The Hill, Water on Line, World Highways, Bloomberg Government, Airport World, Politico, Smart & Resilient Cities, Infrastructure USA, Water Online, Construction USA, Renewable Energy World, Construction Today, P3 Bulletin, P3 World, ICMA, American Infrastructure, Born To Invest, Onvia and many others. She is a regular contributor to business journals and SPI publishes two newsletters each week that carry her columns. She is active on the professional speaking circuit and is a keynote speaker at both business conferences and government executive’s conferences.
Mary has an extensive business background in both the public and private sectors. Before entering government, Mary was the President and General Manager of two media firms. In government, she served as the Commissioner representing Business at the Texas Employment Commission. In that position, she was a high-profile, proactive business advocate who founded The Texas Business Council. Then, Commissioner Nabers moved to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s regulatory agency for the oil and gas industry, which at the time regulated approximately $65 billion of the state’s economy annually. She was active on both the state and federal levels and represented Texas on numerous national boards.
Mary holds a BS degree from Howard Payne University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. She also holds an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree and was named a Distinguished Alumnae of Howard Payne University.
Delegate, Emerging Leaders World Conference · Spirit of Texas Award · Leadership America · Leadership Texas · World Congress on Information Technology · Named to Profiles in Power · Mentor, University of Texas’ Forty Acres Scholars · Partner & Mentor, Capital Factory
President, Headliners Club · Board of St David’s Healthcare Foundation · University of Texas groups – UT Exes Council; the Chancellor’s Executive Committee; the President’s Advisory Council · National Council for Public-Private Partnerships · National Petroleum Council · Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission · Long Center for the Performing Arts · Advisory Board, San Antonio Spurs · Chair, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce ∙ Board of Directors – Texas Association of Business · Girl Scouts Advisory Board
The historic effort that has been made to upgrade and stabilize America’s infrastructure over the past several years has moved the country into a safer and more resilient state. But there’s more that must be done. The effort is not ending, and new funding has just been announced for America’s power grid infrastructure. The U.S. […]
The attraction to and interest in parks, community centers and sports-related recreational facility projects has escalated significantly over the past several years. Public officials, especially at the municipal levels of government, are increasing their investments in these types of initiatives while federal funding programs are currently providing attractive financial support. There are numerous reasons for […]
Public-private partnerships (P3s) of all sizes and types are becoming more common throughout America and this type of project delivery model is being use for all types of initiatives. Many federal funding programs now require some amount of private-sector investment, and public officials, eager to launch critical projects, are routinely reaching out to contractors, developers […]
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