Maria has studied leadership development at Harvard University and has designed and evaluated several leadership interventions. What makes Maria unique is her perspective as an evaluator as well as designer and facilitator of leadership interventions. Evaluating programs has given Maria insight into not just if an intervention worked or not but why and what made the difference. The evidence is in, and it is all about people! Maria recently re-launched her approach to leader development work to focus on coaching as the 'secret' to successful people and leadership development strategies Maria offers both individual and group coaching as the cornerstones of effective leadership development. Maria is also co-founder and co-CEO of B-HART a social enterprise leading the disability services sector on elevating the use of human rights-based approaches. Maria’s coaching and development programs are informed by the following:

• Adaptive Leadership principles and practices: a Harvard University program Adaptive Leadership is great for working with complexity, context and the challenges of perception while diagnosing situations because it’s amazing how often we’re solving the wrong problems,
• Dynamic facilitation approach: Maria uses experiential, interactive person-focused design and heuristics which ensures your lived experience and personal knowledge frameworks guide our work,
• Neuroscience and Brain-Based Coaching: which fosters personal insights, connects to motivation and engages positively with challenges.
• Vertical Development Practices: As the VDI moniker says, vertical development is how grown-ups grow up. VD specialises in catalysing personal growth and transformation.
• Evidence, evidence, evidence: because it is what underpins the design choices for all Maria’s programs.