The Junior League of Baltimore regretfully shares that Past President Mary Ellen Thomsen passed away on April 18, 2022.  Mary Ellen was a long-time supporter of the League and served as President from 1971-1973.

Supported in part by a scholarship won through a state-wide debate competition, Mary Ellen attended and became a graduate of Radcliff College before launching a career in journalism.  As her writing appeared in publications ranging from the Harvard Alumni Bulletin to the New York Herald Tribune, Mary Ellen found herself being called to help young women develop natural abilities and interests, and in 1978 began a second career in education as Headmistress of St. Paul’s School for Girls.  Over the next eight years, Mary Ellen helped elevate the public profile of the school, raised funds to construct a new wing of the building, and laid the groundwork for students to adapt to the changing roles of and new opportunities available to women in that era.

In addition to her service to JLB, Mary Ellen served as Area Director for the Association of Junior Leagues (predecessor to the current Association of Junior Leagues International, or AJLI) and Chair of its National Project on Criminal Justice.  A fierce advocate and decisive leader, she sat on numerous Boards and committees and volunteered in the community as a volunteer for the Child Life program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a docent for the Baltimore Museum of Art, and a tutor for Roland Park Elementary School and the Greater Homewood Adult Literacy Center.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at 11:00 AM at Roland Park Presbyterian Church, 4801 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21210.