Mary Vinton Folberg

Who is Mary Vinton Folberg?

Mary Vinton Folberg is the Head of School for Northwest Academy, a former teacher and former dancer. She was Miss Oregon in 1958. She founded the dance program at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, which has become internationally recognized within the dance community. The performing leg of the Jefferson High School dance department is The Jefferson Dancers, which performs locally, nationally, and occasionally even internationally. The Portland, Oregon, newsweekly Willamette Week has referred to The Jefferson Dancers as "Portland's best dance company".

After leaving Jefferson High School in 1995, Folberg founded The Northwest Academy, which is an independent, college-preparatory, middle- and high-school program in downtown Portland with a unique academic and arts partnership. She was born in 1940, and holds degrees in literature and dance and taught in California and Oregon public schools. Fohlberg is the 2013 recipient of Portland Monthly magazine's Light A Fire Award for Lifetime Achievement. She also is the recipient of a 1981 Kennedy Center Award for Excellence in Arts Education and the Metropolitan Arts Commission Award in 1982, 1988, and 1989.