Maria is a Food Systems expert working with foundations, nonprofits, and universities in their process of defining, co-designing, and executing their food systems strategy so that they identify where they are best positioned to make the most impact, design effective programs, and are better able to track and share their impact internally and externally. She supports impact-driven teams tackling complex challenges by leveraging systems thinking, human-centered design, and emergent strategy principles. 

Over the last 10 years, Maria has focused on understanding food and agricultural systems, exploring pathways to their transformation, and working with teams to co-build the food futures our planet desperately needs. Her passion to be part of building inclusive and regenerative food systems has brought her to work with The World Bank, Oxfam International, The Rockefeller Foundation, UN Foundation, SecondMuse, Food System 6, UC Berkeley, among many others. Maria completed two Master's programs, including a Master in Public Policy from UC Berkeley (with a focus in food policy, systems thinking, and innovation), and a MS in Biological & Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State University. She holds a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. To learn more about her work, you can visit her website here.