Maria is Executive Director of Centro Cultural de Washington County, a nonprofit that delivers workforce, business, and youth development services for low income and Latino residents in Washington County. Maria came to Hillsboro and Washington County in 1969 with her migrant farmworker family from Sonoma County, California. Her career includes 30 years in local, state, and federal government service primarily in public safety.

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She was a Policy Analyst at the US Department of Justice during part of the Clinton and Bush administrations overseeing 35 community policing institutes based at universities across the country designed to bridge the gap between communities and police. Other jobs include Executive Director of the Institute on Community Policing at Western Oregon University, Policy Director for Public Safety for Portland mayor Tom Potter, and Vice-President of Equity and Inclusion at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette in Portland, Oregon. Her career has focused on systems change and organizational learning.