MaryKay Severino
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, Education Director
MaryKay is a native Bostonian who grew up in the Somerville/Arlington area. After graduating from Villanova with a Bachelor’s in Economics/Business, she went on to work in the business world, specifically in program management and marketing.
She then went on to earn her Master’s degree in Education and worked in public & private K-12 school systems and universities in Taiwan and South Korea. Upon returning to the Boston area MaryKay worked in the K-12 public school system before leaving to start her own small business as a REALTOR® while also functioning as the Project Manager for the Eclipse Soundscapes Project at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
Living abroad gave MaryKay a strong understanding of the challenges faced by anyone who communicates differently. For this reason, the Eclipse Soundscapes project was a natural fit. There she used her program management skills to promote, plan, and execute a project which will bring the amazement and wonder of an eclipse to a more inclusive demographic and also developed a deeper love for Science.
Having worked as both a businesswoman and an educator, MaryKay realized that her passion lies in both building businesses and promoting and supporting more inclusive education utilizing the principles of Universal Design. This led her to start ARISA Lab with friend and co-founder, Trae.