About  

Maria is a non-attorney educational consultant and special education advocate based in Northern California who is dedicated to helping children receive the support they need to thrive. With an undergraduate degree in Psychology and six years of experience as an autism specialist paraeducator, she has supported students in both general education and special day class settings across multiple Bay Area school districts. Maria has also completed graduate-level coursework with a concentration in Language and Literacy, bringing a thoughtful, student-centered perspective to her work. Over the years, she has participated in hundreds of Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meetings and has collaborated with psychoeducational evaluators, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers, board-certified behavior analysts, general and special education teachers, site administrators, and district personnel. Her experience allows her to work alongside families with compassion, clarity, and a strong understanding of educational and behavioral supports.

Maria's additional training and professional affiliations include:

• Member of the Council of Parents, Advocates, and Attorneys (COPAA), with SEAT 2.0 Certification; COPAA Conference Attendee (2023, 2025)
• International Dyslexia Association Northern New England Alliance
• Stanford Neurodiversity Summit 2022, 2023
• 15th Annual Autism Spectrum Disorders Update, Stanford University (2022)
• UC Davis MIND Summer Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (2021)
• Social Thinking Conference co-hosted by Michelle Garcia-Winner (2015, 2017)
• Support for Families Conference, San Francisco (2014-2018, 2021)
• Member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• UC Berkeley Neurodiversity Symposium, 2025