Marae received her BS in Biology from Appalachian State University and her PhD in Integrative, Comparative, and Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Marae's dissertation research focused on the winter population biology and impacts of sea level rise on marsh sparrows in tidal marshes in Southeastern North Carolina. She is currently the project lead on a grant to the Cape Fear Bird Observatory from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Science Collaborative to synthesize Motus data from across the NERRS for education, conservation and research and a consultant for Sandbar Oyster Company.