Prior to becoming an Officer, she served as an Associate Resident Counsel and Assistant to the Treasurer of National Presto.
In July 2003 they acquired Spectra Technologies, which produces munitions and ordinance related products for the DOD and its chief contractors.
In 2006, she oversaw the acquisition of Amron LLC, a cartridge case producer used in medium caliber ammunition (primarily for the Department of Defense).
She is listed as one of the notable members of Beta Gamma Sigma and was a 2013 recipient of the "Futuremakers Partner Award.
Her mother, Eileen Cohen Phillips (1926–2017), an only child, was the first in her family to graduate college, and Maryjo and her older sister Amy followed her to the University of Michigan.