Mary Thompson is the Research Historian for George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate (2008-present). She is currently responsible for research to support programs in all departments at Mount Vernon, with a primary focus on everyday life on the estate, including domestic routines, foodways, religious practices, slavery, and the enslaved community. She has lectured on a variety of subjects, ranging from family life and private enterprise among the slaves at Mount Vernon, to slave resistance, the diet of the Mount Vernon slaves, Christmas at Mount Vernon, religious practices in the Washington family, and funeral and mourning customs in George Washington's family.