Governor John Kitzhaber has appointed retired United States Air Force Colonel Mary J. Mayer—a 1969 alumna of Marylhurst University—to serve on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA).

Mayer's term began on September 15, 2011 and will run through September 14, 2015.

Mayer was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force in 1972 and served on active duty until 2002. She served in a variety of intelligence, personnel policy, administration, contracting, program management and special duty positions.

After retiring from the Air Force, Mayer went to work for KBR Government and Infrastructure, headquartered in Arlington, VA. She returned to Oregon in 2005.

Since then, Mayer has been doing part-time consulting work and supporting various veteran and community groups. She currently serves as the Oregon State President for the Air Force Association, President of the Portland Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Secretary/Treasurer of the MOAA Oregon State Council of Chapters, Air Force Association Representative on the United Veterans' Groups of Oregon (UVGO), President of the Columbia Gorge Chapter of the Air Force Association, Secretary of the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra Board, Governance Committee Chair for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) of Oregon, and a charter member of the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial Foundation.

The Advisory Committee was formed by statute in 1945 to provide input to the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs. It is a nine-person committee that plays an active advisory role in the effective administration of the department.