While in college, during the summer of 1945, Mahaffey worked at Poston Internment Camp as a Recreation Director.

In this work, she became aware that the internment camp's real was to hold American citizens because of their ethnicity and not because of any crimes they had committed.

She led efforts to open the Detroit Athletic Club to women and helped enact an ordinance prohibiting sexual harassment of city employees.

Mahaffey was active in many organizations related to nutrition, women in politics, peace, and ending discrimination.

While a student in the School of Social Work, she met Herman (Hy) Dooha, whom she married in June 1950.