MaryAnne Gaunt oral history interview, April 25, 2006

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: W008_GauntMA_20060425

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Amanda Brown. MaryAnne Gaunt’s second interview begins with a recounting of her experiences as President of the Board at Cliff Valley School, which would lead to her involvement with Atlanta Public and Parents Linked for Education (APPLE Corps.) She talks at length about APPLE Corps and its efforts to improve the education of students in Atlanta. She then moves on to talk about her experiences as a volunteer at the United Way. She discusses a number of marches that she participated in during her time as an activist. Lastly, Gaunt discusses her view of the women’s movement and how it has changed and evolved during her lifetime.

Dates

Creation: April 25, 2006

Creator

Gaunt, MaryAnne (MaryAnne Farnsworth) (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research. Please contact Special Collections and Archives about accessing this oral history.

Biographical Note

MaryAnne Farnsworth was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1944. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1965, and went to work for the U.S. Department of Labor (1966-1969), first as a systems analyst, and then as a management intern for the Manpower Administration. In 1970, she married Bruce Gaunt and moved to Atlanta. She worked as an Administrative Assistant/Librarian for the Southern Regional Education Board (1970-1973), and in 1985, after taking time off to look after her children (Nathan Sullivan Gaunt b.1973, and Hillary Farnsworth Gaunt Tuttle b.1976) she went to work for Carlston & Associates as a marketing associate until 1988. She worked for Agnes Scott College as a fund raising/development assistant (1988-1989), and then was an executive director at Apple Corps, Inc. (1989-1997). From 1999 to present, she has worked at Georgia State University, as Associate Director, Principals Center, in the School of Education Policy Studies.

During the time that Gaunt was home with her children, she became active in the Atlanta/Fulton County chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV AF). She was president of LWV AF (1983-1985), and sat on the board until 2005, in addition to serving in a number of other positions. Gaunt was also a member of the Atlanta Women’s Network, serving as Program Committee Chair (1987-1988), and she is a 1982 graduate and long-time volunteer of Leadership Atlanta, serving on its Education Committee. Gaunt has also volunteered for the United Way of Atlanta, and was president of Cliff Valley School (circa 1970-1980).