She considered running against Lastman for Mayor of North York in 1980, but declined on the grounds that she did not have the financial resources to conduct a successful campaign. She did not seek re-election to the Board of Control, and instead announced that she would enrol in a Master of Public Administration (postgraduate) program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Greene sought a prominent civil service position after returning to Toronto, but was unsuccessful and returned to teaching high-school English.