About Maria

I am a proud graduate of Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Building Construction Management (2006) and a graduate-level executive certificate in Construction Management (2024).  I met my husband, a West Lafayette High School alum (2002) at Purdue and we were married in 2006.  I worked in the construction industry from 2006 - 2010 when I became a stay-at-home mom as we started our family.

We moved to Detroit in 2015, as our son was entering pre-k, and we felt passionate about getting involved in our community’s public school. During this pivotal time in Detroit Public Schools, they were relieved of state control within our first year there and elected their first local school board in over 15 years who then hired the new superintendent.  

One of the Superintendent’s initiatives was to get parents involved.  I went through training and helped convert my school’s group to an official PTA and then assisted other parents in establishing PTAs at their schools. That’s really where my passion for involvement in public schools started. 

I was a stay-at-home mom at the time and once both kids were in school, I ended up getting connected to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation on a part-time basis. My time of initial support led to a full-time position handling accounts payable, grant compliance, and budget management.  I was involved in both school and community-based PTAs holding positions from Treasurer to President and attended many school board meetings as well.  

When we moved back to West Lafayette in 2021, I was connected to Wendy Ailor at the West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation (WLSEF), and in August 2022 I joined the WLSEF board. During this time, I also made a career change and went back to construction.  I am currently a Project Manager with Summit Livestock Facilities, a general contractor based in West Lafayette, IN.