Maria specializes in managing communications strategies for high-profile real estate development projects and statewide outreach campaigns on Latino issues.  As a certified mediator, Maria brings extensive experience and unique insight into communicating with stakeholders and community organizations. She was director of community relations and government affairs for a real estate development firm in West Los Angeles and has completed fellowships as a Coro Fellow at Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), LA County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), Univision, Chuck Fuentes for Assembly campaign, J.S. Rosenfield & Co., and Pacoima Beautiful Youth Environmentalists.Maria was recently appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board by California Governor Jerry Brown. She is also on the Stanford Board of Governors and an active member of the Stanford Associates. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University with a minor in Urban Studies. She also earned her Juris Doctorate at Loyola Law School, where she became a certified mediator at the Loyola Law School Center for Conflict Resolution.