Mary Jane Parmentier

Mary Jane C. Parmentier, Clinical Professor at Arizona State University, is a co-founder of the M.S. in Global Technology and Development (GTD) program in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where she is also Co-Associate Director for Programs. Mary Jane has long been committed to the Maghrib region, beginning with her work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 1986-1988, teaching English in the town of Ait Ourir for the Moroccan Ministry of Education. Her PhD Dissertation, at the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, was on religion and politics in Morocco and Algeria, published in the Journal of North African Studies. During that time, she also served as a cultural consultant and translator (French and North African Arabic) for a business delegation to Tunisia. From 2013 – 2016 she designed and led study abroad programs each summer for ASU, focusing on sustainable development policy and practice in Morocco, collaborating with Moroccan government ministries, local NGOs and universities to create seminars and projects with Moroccan and U.S. students, and has presented and published papers on aspects of these programs. This work with students has led to collaborations with the Midelt Apple Growers Association and grant proposals for sustainable development in the region of Midelt, supported by a seed grant from the School for the Future of Innovation in Society in the summer of 2018. She also has designed and taught a course, GTD 508 Technology and Development in North Africa for the GTD program and other graduate students at ASU.