Ringling Liberal Arts faculty member Dr. Mary Ann Markey specializes in the darker sides of psychology—everything from conflict management and domestic violence to terrorist threats and active killers. But she’s managed to turn her experiences with these subjects into inspiring projects to nurture children and look to the stars.
This past November, Markey was recognized by The Daily Sun newspaper as a FIERCE Woman for her work with The Teddy Bear Project, a 501c3 organization she founded to provide plush toys to vulnerable children. Markey first started the project in 2010, when she served as the head of the Family Center for the Family Violence Protection Program in Greenville, North Carolina.
“One of the things that I noticed was that when the children would come in, they would gravitate toward the teddy bears and stuffed animals,” she said. “So many of these families had so little. But then when they left, they’d have to leave the bears behind.”
What began as a holiday toy drive blossomed into an overwhelming response. There were so many donations that the surplus was given to the local sheriff’s office to be handed out during domestic violence calls.
In 2020, now living in Florida, Markey saw a drastic rise in domestic violence reports during COVID-19. She was inspired to start The Teddy Bear Project anew, this time based in Port Charlotte. In five years, the newly remade organization has donated thousands of teddy bears and teddy buds (non-bear plush toys)—more than 1,700 in 2023 alone. They’re shipped both locally and around the world, including to partners in the Ukraine and Mongolia.
Likewise, the donations arrive from all over the country. “It’s not unusual to open the door and find boxes the size of small apartments,” said Markey, who stores the toys in her own home, sometimes from floor to ceiling. “They come in by UPS, by Fed Ex, by USPS. They’re donated in memory of someone who’s passed away, from estates, from collections. All these people who want to be able to help, and this is a way to do it.”
Markey has also found a way to connect hope and positivity with academia. This year, she copyrighted the study of “glistophilia,” the cultural and anthropological study of human attraction to things that glisten, glitter, and sparkle. It all began with her love of Christmas movies.
“So many of the decorations we’re attracted to are things that sparkle, glisten, glitter. I wondered if anybody has looked into the cultural, historical, and societal ramifications of this,” she explained. Glistophilia covers both naturally occurring phenomena—like twinkling stars—as well as man-made items, including makeup products and various aspects of the entertainment industry. “So many of these fields rely on that type of thing to attract buyers’ attention and use it for marketing purposes.”
Glistophilia marries Markey’s interests in “biophilia” (or relationship with nature) and “astrophilia” (dealing with the universe and the cosmos). Whether it’s soft toys or far-off stars, Markey remains keenly aware of ways to satisfy our fundamental human needs and curiosities.
“There’s a language of joy, a language of hearts and love, associated with teddy bears,” she said. “We do this year-round because these kids and their families need help all the time. Our philosophy is we never say no, no matter what it takes.”
Markey is a member of Ringling College’s Subject Matter Experts, as an expert on the subjects of Active killers, mass murders in schools, workplaces, public venues and church; intra-family homicide, violence, domestic violence, biophilia, astrophilia, Space Society, and Cosma Culture.
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