Marie M. Clay started off her career as a teacher before going on to work at the New Zealand Ministry of Education in the Psychological Services Department. Some time later, Clay went to work for the University of Auckland, where for the next thirty years, she trained other psychologists for their jobs. Clay used her knowledge of normal and clinical aspects of developmental psychology to teach others as a visiting professor at the Ohio State University, University of Illinois, Texas Womans University, Oxford University, and the Institute of Education at the University of London. President of the International Reading Association from 1992-1993, Clay still advocates a literary awareness program that urges teachers to think about literary betterment and the power of writing.