"ReEntry Stories," a radio series Evans produced for WYSO since 2019, highlighted the perspectives and challenges of returned citizens transitioning back into society. She also contributed to other WYSO projects, such as ”Loud As the Rolling Sea," "West Dayton Stories," and “The Ohio Country.”
“It is devastating to lose this vibrant and active member of the WYSO family,” Luke Dennis, General Manager of WYSO, wrote in an email to staff Friday afternoon.
Earlier this year, Evans was named a 2025 Kettering Foundation Democracy Fellow for her work with formerly incarcerated citizens.
“Mary was an extraordinary leader in our community and a tireless advocate for those who are often left out or forgotten,” said Elizabeth Gish, senior program officer for democracy and community at the Kettering Foundation. “I am so deeply thankful to have had to the chance to work with her and learn from her.”
Evans wrote about how she came to Dayton and how she discovered her passion for journalism and advocacy in a 2023 column for Ideas & Voices:
“I came to live in Dayton after paroling to a liberal arts school in Greene County, which held classes inside my prison institution. The readings assigned in this Inside Out class gave me a whole new perspective. Growing up in Gallipolis, I wasn’t taught about Angela Davis. I never heard of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Basquiat, or Gordon Parks. Seeing these different artists and activists using their art to advocate for rights changed my life forever.”
Peter Benkendorf of The Collaboratory helped Evans put her “ReEntry Stories” pitch deck together to present to Neenah Ellis at WYSO, who she approached at a career fair, telling her “I know what I want to do. I want to give people like me a chance to tell their stories on the radio.”
“Mary Evans taught me what ‘sense of purpose’ looks like in the face of adversity.” Benkendorf said. “She was an unrelenting advocate for justice, especially for the formerly incarcerated. Mary used the power of audio to give voice to those who were marginalized and voiceless.”
Benkendorf later connected Evans with other area journalists to create The Journalism Lab, a non-profit she used to share her skills with those in the community interested in learning the basics of journalism to tell the stories important to them.
“From the day I met Mary, I couldn’t help but be inspired by her energy and passion for righting wrongs and speaking truth to power,” said Stephen Starr, one of the co-founders of The Journalism Lab. “There will be a gaping hole in our community for a long time to come, but Mary will continue to inspire us all.”
In April of this year, Evans, a Dayton Correctional Institution site coordinator for Wilmington College, helped gather and publish letters from women with whom she worked about what second chances meant to them.
“Mary was an extraordinarily accomplished journalist with a deep understanding of the most intransigent issues facing the community, a knowledge base she built from lived experience,” said Journalism Lab co-founder and former Dayton Daily News reporter Steve Bennish. “She’s gone from us far too soon.”
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced. Details will be shared as they become available.
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