Mary Therese Perez Hattori, EdD (Familian Titang) is the twin sister of Dr. Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima. Born to Fermina Leon Guerrero Perez of Guahan and Paul Mitsuo Hattori of Kalihi, O’ahu, she is one of nine—sister to Anne, Margaret, Yvonne, Paul, Stephen, Thomas, Barbara, and Robert; mother of Timothy Mitsuo Hattori Sasaki, and wife to William Jay Talley of Ohio. She resides in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

Mary holds a BEd and Professional Diploma in Secondary Social Studies with a concentration in Pacific Islands History, an MEd in Educational Technology, and an EdD in Professional Educational Practice from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Dr. Hattori serves as the Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program with the East-West Center (EWC). Prior to working at the EWC, she was Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Chaminade University and Outreach Director for the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai’i-Mānoa. For more than a decade, Dr. Hattori was a faculty member at Kapiolani Community College as the Coordinator for the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Technology.

Her academic interests include culturally responsive education and leadership, leadership development, and indigenous research methodologies. She is a community organizer, published author and poet, and currently serves on the Hawaii State Board of Education.