[2] Mazany has worked in public education for school districts in the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, and San Francisco.

[citation needed] Mazany served as superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Oakland Unified School District.

[3] In approximately the year 2000, Mazany moved from California to Chicago in order to work in the field of philanthropy there.

In this position, he led the planning an execution of the $50 million five-year commitment of the trust to support education and schools in the city.

[9] Mazany has also served in leadership rooms with the Smithsonian Science Education Center,[10] the National Assessment Governing Board (including a tenure as its chairman),[5][11] and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.