Personal profile: Mary Koolhof

Mary Koolhof is strongly committed to the work of the Royal Society of Tasmania in advancing knowledge and has been an active member of the Society since 2007.

A graduate of the University of Tasmania with First Class Honours in Arts, Mary had wide experience as a teacher in Tasmanian schools including stints as Senior Education Officer and Senior Curriculum Officer for the Department of Education. Mary was an inaugural awardee of a Commonwealth Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship and a recipient of several Goethe-Institut scholarships to study in Germany. She was awarded a Rotary Vocational Award for Excellence for her work with refugee students. Mary has finished a six-year term on the Tasmanian Social Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee.

To support vulnerable Tasmanian children, Mary became involved in initiatives of the Salvation Army as the commissioned author of nine children’s books published for the Safe From the Start and Communities for Children programs. The books tackle current issues facing young people such as family violence, peer pressure, cyberbullying and cyberstalking. The latest book to support children exposed to the drug ice was launched in February 2021.

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