Maria is a Brazilian-born educator and artist who studied with acclaimed director Augusto Boal and has taught classes and workshops that focus on Theatre of the Oppressed techniques for the American Repertory Theater, Harvard Extension School, Lesley University, and several other organizations. She worked at the Harvard Art Museums, developing and teaching gallery classes to immigrants in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
She is a National Arts Integration Consultant, one of the recipients of the 2019 Arts Leadership Award from The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, and the winner of the 2022 Appleton Arts Integration Award from the Van Wezel Foundation. Maria has served as the Manager for Arts Integration for Any Given Child Sarasota at Sarasota County Schools. Maria is a seasoned improviser with extensive training and experience teaching students of all ages. She is currently a member of Florida Studio Theater Improv. She studied at The American Musical Dramatic Academy in NYC and has a Masters in Intercultural Relations and Arts for Social Change from Lesley University.
