‘As I like to say, when puppets come to school, teaching and learning come to life!’

Mary Beth Spann Mank, Riverhead

“I first discovered puppets when I was a child growing up in Buffalo, New York. Saturday mornings found me glued to our tiny TV screen, enchanted by all the puppet friends who lived there.

“Many of those pioneer television shows for kids featured popular puppeteering teams, including Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody and Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Moose. Ever since those early years, I’ve held a fondness in my heart for the magical act of using voice and imagination to bring a puppet to life.

“After college, I was hired to teach third grade in Roslyn. I was a bit concerned to discover the school’s social studies curriculum included a unit on Australia, a place I knew almost nothing about. I needn’t have worried.

Many of those pioneer television shows for kids featured popular puppeteering teams.

“As the first day of school approached, I was shopping when I spotted a koala bear puppet for sale. I thought, ‘Hey! I bet that puppet could help me teach about Australia!’ So, I paid $12.95 to make her mine and dubbed her Kerry Koala.

“I couldn’t wait to introduce Kerry to my class. As expected, she was a smash hit. My kids never even complained that my mouth moved when Kerry spoke. I was thrilled. It took a bit of trial and error for me to use Kerry effectively. With patience and persistence, I developed positive puppeteering strategies that worked to grab and hold kids’ attention every time.

“During this time, my puppets and I made volunteer visits to classrooms and taught puppetry workshops to teachers. In 2017, I began teaching for VIPKid, a China-based company that employed teachers from the U.S. and Canada to teach English to Chinese children online. I was eager to see if my puppets would work well in this venue.

“As it turned out, my remote students loved puppets, too! They even began bringing their stuffed animals and dolls to class so they could interact with me and my puppets. I think puppets belong in the classroom. As I like to say, when puppets come to school, teaching and learning come to life!”

Interviewed by Saul Schachter

‘We want to empower people so they know that they can make the world a better place.’

Riverhead

“I dedicate my life to kindness and compassion; I met my husband, John, through mutual friends when we were teenagers and we stayed friends throughout our twenties. I was one of the first people to be involved with Long Island Orchestrating for Nature which John founded in 2012. In a weird way, we were basically high school sweethearts!

“One of the first rescues we did together was in Plainview. We went to a location to rescue chickens and peafowl and ended up also rescuing a pigeon who had a dart in their wing; we also saved a kitten that was trapped in a car’s wheel well.

“While animal welfare is my passion, I believe in living a healthy and mindful lifestyle. I am also an artist. I was actually featured in a 2021 documentary titled “The Face of Fashion is Fear” where I appeared in full body paint at an animal rights rally.

If you see something abusive going on, say something!

“I have also been recognized by PETA with a Hero for Coyotes Award following the announcement that the luxury outerwear company Canada Goose went fur-free which is an initiative that I was very involved with. It was nice to be recognized for my efforts, but I do this work to spread kindness and compassion, not to gain recognition for myself. I also love educating children to help them attain love and compassion for all species.

“Right now, John and I are working on finding a location to establish a rescue and advocacy education center for Humane Long Island which is what we rebranded LION this year; we think it will probably be on the East End. We hope that the education center will help the public understand how much planning work goes into every protest and demonstration.

“The laws protecting animals are weak and there aren’t many grants around that are dedicated to rescuing animals, especially farmed animals. We spend a lot of time talking to legislators trying to get this changed. We want to empower people so they know that they can make the world a better place.

“If you see something abusive going on, say something! Your opinion matters, especially if it saves a living creature from suffering.”

Interviewed by Meagan Meehan

‘My heart is in animal rescue, but my head is in animal advocacy.’

Riverhead

““I always wanted to help the populations who most needed it in this world. I went to college to earn a bachelor’s in psychology because I was planning to work with at-risk kids.

“While I was in college, I took a class about world religions and learned about Jainism, an Indian religion that respects all life. I embraced a vegan lifestyle, and I started taking courses in environmentalism. I went on to earn a master’s degree in anthrozoology.

“In 2009, I started protesting Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus after I saw horrifying pictures of a baby elephant in chains.

“In 2012, I founded Long Island Orchestrating for Nature [LION]. It was a side project, and I never imagined it would get as big as it got. I have been involved with rescuing and rehoming an entire petting zoo, abandoned black swans, goats running from slaughterhouses, and piglets from one of Iowa’s largest factory farms.

“Among the most interesting cases I’ve dealt with involved Canada geese. One was shot through the neck with an arrow. The other had fireworks duct-taped to him, and someone had lit the fuse, but the goose went into the water and extinguished it, which saved his life.

“In both instances, we captured the geese and got them veterinary care. Both survived, healed and were released back into the wild.

“I got a job working with PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] after I gave a speech about LION’s grassroots start at an international wildlife conference. It was then that I realized I could make advocating for animals a career.

“In 2022, we rebranded and now go by the name Humane Long Island. Our latest initiative has been to shut down Sloth Encounters [a petting business in Hauppauge]. The laws protecting animals are very weak, and we need support to strengthen them. My heart is in animal rescue, but my head is in animal advocacy.

“HumaneLI is currently working on creating a sanctuary that will include an activist education center. We envision this sanctuary as being a transitional place that houses rescued animals only until we can find them loving forever homes. That way we will always have room for more. The best way to help animals is to stop eating them. One vegan can save nearly 200 animal lives every year.”

Interviewed by Meagan Meehan

‘Working with people who have trauma, I see they often repeat patterns without noticing.’

Riverhead

“It started when I became ordained as a minister in a church. I was working with young people, and I noticed a lot of them had things that were going on, whether it was fighting or strange things, nail-biting. I started asking them, ‘Why do you do what you do?’ And they started sharing with me things they were concerned about with their parents. Some had trauma — they had seen people shot, mothers killed, fathers killed, major situations where their siblings were hurt that they never dealt with. I was their Sunday school teacher, so this was born out of that, I thought, ‘I can help them.’ I created a group in the community, a black neighborhood, Gordon Heights. I had 30 to 50 children per day for two weeks at vacation Bible school, and I kept doing it for years.

“Then I expanded the program to counseling for families. I created a book, ‘How to Scream Without Yelling,’ for young people going through traumas. It was a journal for them to be able to say what they needed to say without having bad behavior. I used that a lot with my counseling sessions. That was about 30 years ago. I knew that I had to work with the moms; many were single moms who had several children with several different fathers.

“Working with people who have trauma, I see they often repeat patterns without noticing. I was working with survivors, but it was more than just surviving it, it was the trauma now and what do you do with it. I wrote a book about surviving sexual abuse as a child. ‘Stuff! The Stuff No One Told Us About Life After Sexual Abuse.’ Sexual abuse affected my life, my habits, how I viewed money, how I viewed men, how I viewed women, emotionally where I was. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network accepted my book as one of their preferred reading materials.

I started training people to get hope again, get their GED, go to work. I acted like their momma. I’d say, ‘Listen, get it together. You can do this.’

“Now, I work with Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. I’m a real estate broker, and I was working in Wyandanch, a really hard neighborhood, and everyone I was working with was in a housing program, and all we did was rentals. We saw cases where the mother would die, and the Section 8 voucher was gifted to the child. I’ve seen adults have children, and they’d keep repeating the same pattern. The other pattern was in shelters; they’d get so despondent and hopeless. I saw that it was something like 80 percent of people in shelters are people of color. It was crazy. These people are feeling hopeless, and in the middle of all that, there’s children being born in the shelter, and they’re growing up like this. They’re 3, then they’re 9, then they’re 15. And I’m going, ‘There’s a problem. Why is this happening?’ Sure enough, it was a pattern generationally; they got comfortable and stayed in the shelter.

“So, I started training people to get hope again, get their GED, go to work. I acted like their momma. I’d say, ‘Listen, get it together. You can do this.’ I see the same patterns with homelessness. There’s a trauma in there somewhere. I was able in my role to address the matter and help them move out of homelessness. I’ve been doing that for about four years now. As a landlord engagement specialist, my day-to-day is educating landlords, property managers, real estate developers and lawmakers on having affordable, safe and equitable housing. You need inclusion, accepting the culture of that person. I educate on that end. I’m also on the committee for the revitalization of downtown Riverhead. I’m also president of the Greater Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce in the business district. And I’m the executive chair of the Town of Brookhaven NAACP. My work as a minister and counselor, they all work together, they just blend. Insurance companies don’t cover this type of counseling, so I need to get grants and get other nonprofits involved to help the communities. Most people don’t know that they have a trauma response, so it’s important to take care of your mental health and take care of you before you can take care of someone else.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

‘I’m just very grateful for the memories that I have growing up on the reservation.’

Riverhead

“I grew up on the Shinnecock reservation and went to Southampton High School. Since the reservation was basically in the middle of Southampton, we had a community in and outside of school. So that was cool! We had our own academic advisors that dealt with just Native kids to make the living situation and transitioning easier. I felt included growing up, being that my community was looked at and acknowledged in our town. And that’s different, you know, not everyone can say that.

“I remember one trip that I took in high school I will literally never forget. I went to Quebec and we did a bunch of different stuff. The last thing we did before we went back home to school was visit a native tribe. It was such an intimate experience for me because when a member of the tribe was telling their story, by the end of it, I was the only student there that wanted to cry. It was sad hearing the stories about how they only can use their land for commercial things, like getting money, and the profit doesn’t just go to them…it goes to Canada. So, they don’t get to really use the resources they have for their day-to-day stuff.

… there was so much taken away from Native Americans, for it to be 2021 and to still have even a little bit, you know, I’m grateful even for the little bit of whatever we have.

“My family — and everyone in our tribe — can live on the reservation. They can’t. It’s basically a show-and-tell place. They don’t have a tribe anymore because they’re distributed all over the place. It opened my mind about other natives outside of America. For me, to have federally recognized land to come back to that can’t be touched, that can’t be taken away from us, is a blessing. I’m just very grateful for the memories that I have growing up on the reservation, like bike riding with my friends until the lights came up, our community gatherings, learning how to clam with your feet, berry picking and all that type of stuff.

“Especially because there was so much taken away from Native Americans, for it to be 2021 and to still have even a little bit, you know, I’m grateful even for the little bit of whatever we have. It’s less than some and more than others, but it’s something we could work on and do better from what we have. I love that about my tribe and my culture in this small community.”

Interviewed by Jay Max

‘We’re going through tough times right now with his medical issues but it’s all worth it, this journey.’

Riverhead

“I have a charming, charismatic, understanding special needs son. He has a rare genetic disorder called Koolen-de Vries syndrome and it went undiagnosed for 19 years. He has developmental delays and learning disabilities. “He’s 28 now and Dr. Gail Schonfeld saved his life. He was getting sick and had liver disease. I tried to get him on a liver transplant list.

“We went to a few institutions; they just wouldn’t allow it. They took points off for him being special needs. I had actually given up; I had hospice and thought he was going to pass away. Our pediatrician wouldn’t sign off on hospice papers, and I was at my wits’ end and hospice had to stop coming. I left my house and I stormed to her office in East Hampton and banged on her door. She said to me, ‘Of all my patients’ parents, you’re giving up? Go get tested yourself.’

I was a match; I had to lose 40 pounds and saved his life. I donated 65 percent of my liver on Jan. 28, 2020. We were the last transplant duo before the unit closed for COVID-19.

“We went to Mt. Sinai Hospital. I was a match; I had to lose 40 pounds and saved his life. I donated 65 percent of my liver on Jan. 28, 2020. We were the last transplant duo before the unit closed for COVID-19. We’re doing okay, he has some issues but we’re a year-and-a-half out. I did fantastic. I had no complications. He had biliary duct issues; it’s a common thing that happens with the transplant. He gets sick with infections. We’re trying to save our kids. No one knows about it, no one understands it.

“I belong to support groups for Koolen-de Vries and I’ve encountered people who I’m sure they have it but there are only a few on Long Island who are diagnosed with it. There are only a few tens of thousands diagnosed in the world, and many are undiagnosed. It was fortunate with his liver that I was a match. We’re going through tough times right now with his medical issues but it’s all worth it, this journey. If something happens to my son, I set up with Mt. Sinai to donate all his organs, sending brain cell tissues for Koolen-de Vries research.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

‘The perspective that indigenous people have is so valuable toward solving the problems of the future.’

Riverhead

“I’m very proud to be Shinnecock. My mom studied American history at Dartmouth and my mom is involved in my education. She would review all of my curricula, and if there was something that she disagreed with, she was an advocate for me in the classroom. The New York State curriculum has no requirements that students are taught about indigenous people, specifically Algonquin people who are the people that inhabited this island. I come from a family that has a lot of educators. I was raised to work really hard to educate people. It’s something that I’m happy to do — to share my culture, history, thoughts and perspectives.

That’s why diversity is so important because sometimes it just takes a different perspective to look at problems to get to new and better solutions.

“It’s interesting because of how I was raised in my culture; I really do have a different way of thinking about things. I noticed it a lot in law school. I went to law school in Michigan, and so my classmates were, for the most part, very wealthy, white, Midwestern people. I think only like 2 percent of attorneys are Native attorneys. And so, when the professors would pose questions to us, they would get so quiet and were fascinated by my perspective. And their comments were like, ‘This is something that we would have never thought of,’ or ‘We would never look at the problem like this.’ That’s why diversity is so important because sometimes it just takes a different perspective to look at problems to get to new and better solutions. In law school, I was able to learn about tribal sovereignty. I specifically studied indigenous law and policy, not only at my law school, but I did an Indian law summer program. It was a very small group of students with the world’s top experts.

“The perspective that indigenous people have is so valuable toward solving the problems of the future. It’s just something that’s passed down through us from our elders. But it’s a lifelong thing. When we’re young, our elders look for whatever is special in us and then help, train, guide us and put us on the path toward being able to have an impact in the world. And that’s something that I think is different than the outside culture. We’re given these roles at a really young age but also given the tools to be successful. And that’s something that I’m just grateful for.”

Interviewed by Jay Max