When Maria was eight-years-old she looked up at a clever billboard and decided with certainty that she wanted to create advertising for a living. The only drawback was that she thought the person responsible for the message on the billboard was also tasked with climbing up the ladder and posting it – so her fear of heights temporarily killed that dream.

Eventually realizing that she could sit in the safe confines of her office (and now home), she embarked on a career in advertising.

She is now Executive Vice President of Creative Advertising at Universal Pictures and is responsible for overseeing campaigns for a diverse slate of films.

Her work has been recognized for such films as 1917, Good Boys, Sing, Despicable Me 1 and 2, Ted, Steve Jobs (Best in Show), Minions, Bridesmaids, Snow White and the Huntsman, Atomic Blonde, Hail Caesar, Fifty Shades of Grey, Knocked up, 40 year-old Virgin (Best in Show), Dawn of the Dead, Bruce Almighty, United 93, Ray (Best in Show) and many others.

She has two daughters that mean more to her than any piece of advertising (except maybe the 40 Year-Old Virgin poster because it’s pretty damn rad).