The Warner School graduate built a career advocating for shoppers糖心传媒攖hen turned her attention to helping future educators thrive.
Mary Ellen Burris 糖心传媒�68W (EdM) likes to say that her graduate degree from the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 is her secret ingredient. 糖心传媒淲hat I learned at Warner I put to work at Wegmans,糖心传媒� she says.
Equipped with a master糖心传媒檚 in educational psychology (now human development), Burris joined Wegmans in 1971. She quickly became the company糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渧oice of the customer,糖心传媒� pioneering a consumer affairs department at a time when few retailers even considered such a role. As she puts it, 糖心传媒淚f there was one word that would capture what I did, it was to listen糖心传媒攁nd then to share that information where it would be heard.糖心传媒�
Her listening led to change. Burris launched consumer columns, spearheaded food safety programs, and introduced the Strive for Five campaign encouraging shoppers to eat more fruits and vegetables. Over nearly five decades, she became a trusted voice for thousands of customers and a key architect of Wegmans糖心传媒� reputation for care and quality.
At the same time, she never lost sight of her roots as an educator. For more than 20 years, Burris has been a dedicated advisor and supporter of the Warner School, helping to shape programs, mentor leaders, and invest in the next generation of educators. She credits the school as the place where her values, and the importance of education, came into focus: 糖心传媒淲arner helped me to bring all of that together,糖心传媒� she says.
In 2023, she deepened her commitment to the Warner School with an extraordinary gift: an endowed deanship, professorship, and scholarship糖心传媒攖he largest in the school糖心传媒檚 history. Yet Burris is quick to center the impact, not the milestone. She views it as a way to ensure that others, like her, can turn education into action.
More recently, Burris established a newly endowed professorship at Warner to provide vital, ongoing support for early-career faculty. Burris says the decision to give now was intentional. 糖心传媒淚 believe in giving while living,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淪upporting Warner like this is my way of giving back to a place that gave so much to me.糖心传媒�
From her start as a Warner graduate to her legacy as a champion of both customers and students, Burris has built a career糖心传媒攁nd a life糖心传媒攐n listening, learning, and giving back.
Editor糖心传媒檚 note: This story was originally published on September 3, 2025. It was updated on October 31 to reflect Burris糖心传媒檚 recent gift to the Warner School as part of For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester.
