Forty-one years later, she’s a lifetime Kenwood-to-Blue Ash resident, member of the Cincinnati Nature Center, and an aspiring golfer and pianist. She and Mike, her husband of 37 years, still root for their alma mater University of Dayton (UD) Flyers.

Moving back to Pittsburgh, she notes, “never happened. I had a great friends’ group here, a job I loved, and some 40 years later, I’m still here.”

Mother of two grown children, Maria retired from THOR Investment Management Inc., in 2020, a career marked by accounting, tax and treasurer positions with local companies before moving into financial planning and wealth management.  While raising her two children, she owned her own tax/accounting business. Maria remains busy working part-time during  tax season, and volunteering and traveling, in addition to her other activities, one of which is yoga.

“I’ve been practicing yoga for 27 years, and I credit it with boosting my mindfulness, balance, strength and overall well-being,” she says.

In 2021, Maria joined Impact 100 based on a lunch invitation from Sally Rintoul, a friend and former Arthur Anderson co-worker. Sally, who is currently Recruiting Co-Chair on the Impact 100 Board, had just moved back to Cincinnati.

Maria remembers the phone call well: “Hey… I’m meeting a friend for lunch to talk about Impact 100. Why don’t you join us and learn about this organization?”

A Power Lunch, Indeed

Maria clearly remembers the result of that learning luncheon.

“Sally and I both walked out of the restaurant that day saying to each other, ‘Oh, my gosh, why didn’t we know about this organization? And we need to join!”

Maria and Sally both joined quickly and became members of a Grant Review Team (GRT). Maria recently moved to the Community Investment Review Committee (CIRC), where she leverages her knowledge and expertise in budgeting, financing and long-term financial growth to help evaluate each year’s potential grant recipients.

She says with a smile: “We do a deep financial dive into the agencies recommended by the GRTs, because nobody wants to do that except accountants, right?”

Maria is most inspired by the dedication, professionalism, expertise and passion for philanthropy among her fellow members.

“Working with all of these women from different backgrounds has been amazing,” she says. “Coming in, I didn’t have a strong background in nonprofit management, and everyone’s expertise and input have been impressive. It’s really fun to go on site visits and see the agencies in action.”

Another impetus for joining Impact 100 was parental influence.

“I’ve always been service-minded, and I love the idea of being philanthropic…a concept that was fueled by my parents,” Maria explains. “At Impact 100, I love it all. I want to learn so much about so many organizations that I’ve never heard of before. Just seeing so many nonprofits in this community…from the large ones to the smaller grassroots agencies that are making such a difference in our community…that’s really inspiring to me.”