Severna Park, MD
Maria has been involved in mediation and facilitation for the past three years. She has mediated almost 100 cases in a variety of civil matters, including business and contract matters, employment and tort issues, real estate and landlord-tenant disputes, family matters, divorce and custody issues, specialized education issues, community conflicts, and various neighborhood disputes. Maria is a mediator for the Circuit Court of Maryland, serving both on the Family Law panel and the CINA mediator panel (dealing with children referred to DSS), and serves as a volunteer panel mediator for the Maryland District Court Day of Trial mediation program. Maria is also a volunteer mediator for the Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center, where she mediates a variety of family, business, and community matters and works as a facilitator of Individualized Education Plan meetings in a pilot program with the Anne Arundel County School System.
Maria has completed over 275 hours of Basic and Advanced Mediation training, including specialized training in Family and Divorce and Custody mediation; Child welfare (CINA) mediation; Elder issues mediation, Employment and Labor mediation; Individualized Education Planning (IEP) mediation, and Community mediation. Maria was qualified as a Certified Mediator by MCDR.
Maria’s educational background includes Interpreter degrees in English, French, Spanish and Russian from the International School for Translators and Interpreters in Genoa, Italy (she is a native Italian); a BA Degree from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. Maria was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1987.
During her legal career, Maria first worked ad judicial law clerk for the Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, and then became an Associate with the Baltimore law firm of Ober Kaler, where she practiced general litigation for several years, specializing in international and maritime law. She later worked as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Baltimore, where she practiced municipal and environmental law for almost 10 years. While in mediation practice, she has served as a Pro Bono attorney in family matters. In her earlier career, prior to becoming an attorney, Maria worked as a Translator/ Editorial Assistant at the United Nations, in New York, and at the World Bank, in Washington D.C.
In addition to her affiliation with MCDR, where she serves as an Assistant Secretary on the Board of Directors, Maria serves on the Board of Directors of the Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center and is an active member of the Center’s Mediation Committee and Community Education Committee. Maria is one of the founding members of the Anne Arundel Mediators Guild and is a panel mediator with the Maryland District Court and Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. Maria is also a member of the American Bar Association - Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Environmental Committees; the Maryland State Bar Association - ADR Committee, Family Law and Juvenile Law Committees; and the Anne Arundel Bar Association - member of ADR Committee.