Mary Anne Kirby

Mary Anne Kirby has been a realtor for nearly 30 years in the Pittsburgh area. She does not limit herself to any particular area, as she has listed and sold properties in the east, west, north, and south. Mary Anne is a native of the area and grew up in the Lawrenceville section of the City of Pittsburgh.

Before she became a realtor, Mary Anne spent over 20 years as an opera singer. She loves being on stage and is known for her flare for dramatics, a skill that comes in handy when negotiating. Mary Anne also spent extended periods of time living in Italy on three different occasions. She learned the language and soaked up the culture, as she loves to travel. Her ardent desire is to take a trip to her father's homeland, Ireland, to walk on the sod and look up her clan.

During her "starving artist" years, Mary Anne worked in various restaurants. She did management and training, as well as waitressing, bartending, and cooking. She even ran her own catering company called "Creative Catering" for several years. Mary Anne loves to cook and entertain, and her staff knew her as the garnish queen because of her love for beautiful presentations.

Mary Anne has studied karate off and on for about 15 years. She started with a self-defense class and became hooked, eventually helping her sensei (teacher) teach a self-defense class. Mary Anne was thrilled to be part of helping someone else understand and become empowered.

She believes that her life experiences, travel, linguistics, management, karate, and the stage all contribute to her skill as a realtor. Mary Anne has excellent listening skills, and she enjoys matching people with properties. She believes that most people prefer to be proactive in the real estate process but often need to be given information in order to make informed decisions. Mary Anne knows that her job is not to make decisions for her clients but to guide them with information and to act as a sounding board. She loves the real estate industry and works long and often unconventional hours, but she gets to continually meet new and interesting people, both locals and transferees.