Mary Jaharis was born in Wisconsin, but spent much of her early childhood in Athens, Greece and later moved to Chicago, where she completed middle school and high school. She is married to Michael and they have two children, Kathryn and Steven, and five grandchildren. She attended Northwestern University, graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago with a degree in Fine Arts and later studied at the New York School of Interior Design after the family relocated to New York in 1966.
Mrs. Jaharis is an Honorary Trustee and a Benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She serves on the Trustee Education Committee, and is a member of the Chairman’s Council, the Philodoroi (Friends of Greek and Roman Art), and the Visiting Committees of the Departments of Greek and Roman Art, and Medieval Art and The Cloisters. Mrs. Jaharis is deeply involved in a wide variety of Museum programs and has had a positive impact on the efforts of the Metropolitan Museum. Mrs. Jaharis is responsible for donations leading to the creation of The Byzantine Gallery within the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters and the Mary and Michael Jaharis Greek Galleries in Greek and Roman Art.
Mrs. Jaharis is a Director of the Jaharis Family Foundation, Inc., leading the Foundation’s support of museums, cultural institutions and universities, and is committed to improving the lives of economically disadvantaged families and children. Mrs. Jaharis is a Life Trustee and Scholarship Sponsor of The Art Institute of Chicago. Recently, through the Jaharis Family Foundation, Inc., she and her husband funded of the renovation and expansion of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine Galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago which is was completed in 2012. She is a Trustee of the St. Catherine’s Foundation, which supports conservation work at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai (Egypt), also serving on its steering committee, and is a member of the Philoptochos Society, the women’s philanthropic organization associated with the Greek Orthodox Church.
Mrs. Jaharis was also honored by Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, MA) for founding the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, a premiere international study center for scholarly research and public programs. Earlier this year, Mrs. Jaharis led the newest initiative of Jaharis Family Foundation, “Give to Greece,” a humanitarian relief program to assist children in Greece during the country’s financial crisis.