Leveraging experience as an entrepreneur, executive, engineer, investor, and coach, Maria works with select emerging and high-growth leaders, companies, investors, and entrepreneurial support organizations, helping them make opportunities happen.

As CEO of Orbis Biosciences, Maria built a technology company that improved pharmaceutical manufacturing, won awards for its novel innovation, and was acquired by Adare Pharmaceuticals. As Managing Director of Techstars Kansas City, Maria invested in and coached companies across health tech, biotech, fintech, deep tech, and consumer tech. As a business growth guide, she has worked with founders from over 30 companies.

Maria was a Director at Cerner Corporation, where she held P&L responsibility for a life sciences business unit that provided drug safety software and services to pharmaceutical companies. She also created a new enterprise within Cerner for regional healthcare software.

Maria was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneurial Women to Watch and received the Pipeline Entrepreneurs’ Inspiration Award and Central Exchange’s STEMMy Enterprising Innovator Award. Maria serves on the Board of Directors of BioNexus KC and earned degrees from the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and Kansas State University.