Meet Maria

Why writing? I’m glad you asked

I’ve always been drawn to storytelling. As a kid, I wrote poems I never showed anyone and lost hours in books that felt too big for me. I scripted scenes in my head like the world was one giant film set.

By high school, I knew I wanted to create things that made people feel something. I studied advertising, visual arts, communications, marketing, and PR, hoping to understand how ideas take shape and move people. I spent endless hours writing, pitching ideas, and romanticizing the glamorous era of Mad Men (minus the misogyny, but keep the martinis.)

I flirted with other career paths. They came and went. Creative writing? That was a full-blown affair. I simply fell in love with the craft: the rhythm of a sentence, the power of a headline, the way a small idea can linger.

Favorite project

Collaborating with plastic surgeon Jonathan Bank, MD on a photography book drawing a parallel between the regeneration of flowers and the resilience of women undergoing a double mastectomy

Other things I’m passionate about: flowers; piano; poetry, NYC; the Oxford comma, Severance

Current obsession: Hadestown on Broadway

What’s next

Being a creative writer has thought me that great ideas are created only when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone. I’m currently doing just that at the SVA of New York and my agency, AREA 23.

Up close and personal

When I’m not writing or concepting, I enjoy long-distance travel and sophisticated conversations with good friends and fine wine. At least that’s what I’d like to tell myself on a Saturday night when I’m home with my 6- and 7-year-old. I also like memes. A lot. And mind-bending authors who challenge one’s beliefs and way of thinking. I see you, Richard Bach.