VM Spotlight: Meet Mary Ann Demos

Hello! Thank you for supporting VM and reading our newsletters.  Whether you are a longtime friend, esteemed acquaintance, trusted client, respected colleague, or have just stumbled upon our investigations law firm, we are happy you are here!  To show our appreciation, we want to properly introduce ourselves.  Each month, we will be highlighting different members of our team, so you can learn all about who we are both inside and outside of the workplace and campus investigations fields.

This month, we are delighted to put the VM Spotlight on our Supervising Editor and Paralegal, Mary Ann Demos, who leads our valiant team of Editors.  Since joining VM in 2014, Mary Ann has worked assiduously to make sure the attorneys’ work is polished to perfection, and she also lends her editing touch to correspondence, surveys, and handbooks for the Firm.  Additionally, she serves as a resource for the Firm’s Editors and others in the Firm, ranging from all things grammatical to the ins and outs of our document management system.  For fun, and as one would expect of an editor, Mary Ann is an avid reader and writer of both fiction and nonfiction, and she is a proud member of VM’s Book Club.  

Mary Ann is a pivotal member of the VM Team, and we appreciate her careful, thorough work, and gracious nature in communicating edits to us.  Mary Ann sat down with Associate Attorney Anjuli Fiedler to provide a glimpse into her professional and personal life.  To learn more about Mary Ann, you can read her interview below.

AF:  What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

MAD:  As a teenager, I had a Quarter Horse named Sassy that I used to barrel race with, and participate in gymkhanas.  She was a pro and taught me the ropes!  I was also a belly dancer for several years…it’s incredible exercise, and the costumes are so much fun! 

                Ed. note:  If you’re unfamiliar with the term “gymkhana,” as I was, the dictionary defines it as “a day event comprising races and other competitions between horse riders or car drivers.”

AF:  What food, movie, or song do you never get tired of??

MAD:  Popcorn.  “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.”  “Moonlight Sonata,” by Beethoven (especially when my son plays it on the piano!). 

AF:  Where is your favorite place in the world?

MAD:  The Lake Almanor/Chester area, near Mount Lassen.  Forests in general.  I feel the most peaceful and whole amongst the trees.

 AF:  Who is your greatest source of inspiration?

MAD:  My mom.  She always had a positive outlook.  I honestly don’t remember her ever complaining about anything.  She also made time for her art and for reading.  She took care of her creative side without guilt.

AF:  What piece of advice have you received that has been the most influential?

MAD:  “Whatever will be, will be.”  Again, from my mom.  I don’t remember her singing much, but I do remember her singing along to “Que Sera, Sera,” by Doris Day.  It doesn’t mean you should not try to make things happen in life, but there’s no use having a hissy fit over things like traffic jams, or weather that foils your plans.  I literally and figuratively stop and smell the roses – at least, I try! 

AF:  What do you do to find calm/peace in your daily life?

MAD:  Pet my cats, walk, exercise, read, watch Netflix.  Baking does it, too, but baking daily is a bad idea.

AF:  What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

MAD:  I couldn’t narrow it down to one.  My parents and my kids.  It feels like both are lotteries, and somehow, I won them both.  I will always be grateful.

AF:  Oxford Comma:  yes or no?

MAD:  Yes!  Long live the Oxford comma.  I am prepared to die on that hill.

            Ed. note:  I’m with you, Mary Ann!

AF:  What do you love most about the work we do?

MAD:  I love that our investigations are truly neutral.  We help clients and their employees sort through difficult situations and get as close to “what really happened” as anyone possibly can, all while never taking a side.

AF:  What do you love most about your position specifically?

MAD:  The variety of tasks, although proofreading remains my favorite.  It’s all about the treasure hunt!  I also really enjoy being a champion of consistency throughout the Firm.  In my new position as Supervising Editor, I love doing whatever I can to support the Editors and the work we do.

 AF:  What is the biggest challenge you face on a consistent basis? How do you overcome it?

MAD:  Technology.  Word, Adobe, Excel – they constantly throw me curveballs.  Google is my best friend when it comes to finding solutions.  Chances are, someone else has run across what I’m dealing with and asked the exact question I need, or has done a how-to tutorial.

AF:  At our Firm, what are you the most grateful for?

MAD:  The people that make up Team VM.  Every one of them.  I always proudly tell people that our Firm never has the sorts of problems that we investigate.  I am grateful every day to work with this considerate, smart, forgiving, compassionate, ethical, hard-working team.

AF:  What is your definition of teamwork?

MAD:  Everyone shines at different tasks.  Teamwork involves the perfect gathering of skills, experience, and mindsets to create the best possible result.  Teamwork is selfless.  There is no room for egos in teamwork.

We are so very grateful for Mary Ann’s eagle eye and management of our editing team and for taking the time out to chat with Anjuli.  Come back next month for May’s edition of VM Spotlight and meet another member of our valued team. 

Check out Mary Ann’s choices in April’s VM Recommends, our monthly article on what you should be reading, watching or listening to.