Background
Mary was born in 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
politician member of the Oregon House of Representatives
Mary was born in 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Nolan was in the first class of women admitted into Dartmouth College, from which she graduated magna cum laude in mathematics.
She represented District 36 (formerly District 11) in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and served as the majority leader from 2008-2010. She ran unsuccessfully for the Portland City Council in 2012. Following her departure from elected politics, Nolan was a finalist for a position with Planned Parenthood and was then hired in 2013 as a vice president at FamilyCare, a Medicare and Medicaid managed-care provider in Portland.
Nolan was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2000. Upon winning her second term in 2002, she was named the assistant Democratic leader. Before the 2009 legislative session, Dave Hunt, the then-majority leader, was elected speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.
The Democratic Caucus then elected Nolan as the new majority leader. She was the House Majority Leader in the Oregon House of Representatives from November 2008 until November 2010. In November 2010, the House Democratic Caucus did not re-elect Nolan to any leadership position.
According to The Oregonian, as of 2010 Nolan voted with Democrats 96.77% of the time and had a 1.08% absence record. After Nolan voted "no" on House Bill 2001, which would have increased transportation taxes by $300 million a year in 2009, The Oregonian reported that the move could mean that she may be planning to run for another public office like Mayor of Portland or City Council because of what it meant for environmentalists who had opposed the transportation bill. Nolan ran for a seat on the Portland City Council in the May 2012, challenging incumbent Commissioner Amanda Fritz.