As Regional Director for the Americas, Maria develops and supervises programs that empower people across the continent through access to trusted and quality information. These programs include investigative and community journalism, work to protect a free and open internet, and support to mitigate disinformation, especially among at-risk communities. Internews’ work in the region includes the US-based civic media program, the Listening Post Collective, as well as initiatives across the region to address humanitarian, health, and environmental crises where information can be lifesaving. Maria’s portfolio includes work in the United States, Mexico, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, the Andean region, Brazil, and the Amazon Basin.

Prior to joining Internews in 2017, Maria was Program Director and Advisor on Strategy and Innovation at the International Republican Institute (IRI) where, since 2011, she managed programs focused on digital democracy and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Previously, Maria worked in the Office of the Political Counsel for LAC at the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC. From 2006 to 2009 and while living in China, Maria specialized in international media and digital communications while working for several media agencies. Prior to that, she worked for the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai on areas of communications and policy. She received her law degree from the Universidad de Oviedo (Spain) and a Masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.