Ms Mary Metcalfe has worked in education since 1974 as a teacher, principal, and lecturer. She holds a Masters in Education (University of the Witwatersrand,1988). After working in remedial education, she lectured at the Johannesburg College of Education and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

In 1992 she used her sabbatical to work at the Centre for Education Policy Development to develop and consult extensively on Education Policy for democratic transition of 1994. From 1994 – 2004 she served as the Gauteng MEC for Education, and then MEC for Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs. She was the Head of the School of Education at Wits from 2005 to 2009 before joining the Department of Higher Education and Training as Director General in 2009.

She joined the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the Lead Sector Specialist, Social Infrastructure where she worked between 2011 and 2013. She is now the Executive Director at of PILO which is exploring models for education system improvement at scale. Mary serves on several Boards in the non-for-profit sector, has served on various government advisory structures, and was appointed to the National Planning Commission in December 2021.