Foothill EMT and Paramedics programs director Mary Green died on Jan. 26 at 41 following a five year battle with cancer.

Emergency medical and paramedic program coordinator Charlie McKellar said students respected Green because she put their interests first. He credited Green with the EMTP program’s noticeably improvment following her arrival in 2001.

“She was one of the best instructors to work with,” he said.

Green began instructing in 1997 at various paramedic schools and came to Foothill’s Middlefield campus as a program director in 2001. While Green was teaching, she still worked part-time for an Oakland ambulance company and was published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, a paramedic profession journal.

During her illness, Green still taught, got married and studied at San Jose State University. Her instructors presented a master’s diploma in anthropology to Green the day before she died.