Out In The Open

Why a retired teacher is dedicating her life to ending child detention centres in the U.S.

After 30 years as a teacher in Maine, Mary Dunn is now retired. But she's still working hard, dedicating herself to tackling family separation and child detention centres in the United States.

'I'm scared to death over what's happening in our country right now,' says Mary Dunn

Mary Dunn (Submitted by Mary Dunn)

This story was originally published on November 1, 2019.

After 30 years as a teacher in Maine, Mary Dunn is now retired. But she's still working hard, dedicating herself to tackling family separation and child detention centres in the United States.

Dunn tells Out in the Open host Piya Chattopadhyay about how her visit to a controversial shelter galvanized her mission, and the unintended personal costs that have come along with immersing herself into activism.


This story appears in the Out in the Open episode "Bearing Witness".