Mary Pat McCurdie has a wide-ranging background: chemical engineering, entrepreneurship, ballet, and not-for-profit organizations. She worked as a chemical engineer (Orbital/ATK, Ball Aerospace, CSU Graduate Research Associate, HP/Agilent Technologies) from 1983–2002, when she purchased “The Dance Closet,” a small dancewear boutique near CSU in Fort Collins. In 2005, she grew the store’s lines to include yoga and fitness wear, changed the name, and relocated to Old Town Fort Collins.
Mary Pat performed with Canyon Concert Ballet (1987-2009), dancing and mentoring many young dancers as they grew into young adulthood. She served on the Board of Directors of Canyon Concert Ballet from 2005–2011, acting as Treasurer, Vice-President, and President. From 2011-2017 she served on the local board of Book Trust, a national not-for-profit supporting early childhood literacy through providing choice and ownership of books to children in low-income communities. In 2019 she joined the board of the Fort Collins Symphony association where she currently is Treasurer.
Mary Pat recently started a charitable foundation, Arts Without End, to provide internships to teens and young adults studying the classical performing arts. The interns will have the opportunity to learn about non-profit arts organization management; the goal being to create more adults in communities who volunteer, attend performances, and provide financial support to their local arts organizations.
Mary Pat and her husband have one son who graduated from Westminster College in 2013. He recently completed a Project Management Professional Certification.