Mary Welch Higgins is a fifth-generation Washingtonian. She grew up surrounded by art and artists. She received her BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. After the Corcoran, she worked at the Phillips Collection for a number of years before moving to Northern Virginia, where she received a Masters degree in Visual Information Technologies from George Mason University. She has worked as an adjunct professor, an animator, creative director, interaction designer and business owner. Since 2015, she has been working at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College–Alexandria campus as gallery director and curator, where she has successfully expanded their gallery exhibition program.