Prior to joining the Young Center, Maria received a Michigan Law Bates Overseas Fellowship to represent refugees in resettlement at the Refugee Legal Aid Program (RLAP) at St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo, Egypt. She then continued at RLAP as a Senior Legal Officer where she supervised legal staff and volunteers representing refugees in refugee status determination and protection matters. Maria is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern University, where she received a B.S. in Social Policy. While at Michigan, she worked with victims of sex and labor trafficking with the Michigan Law Human Trafficking Clinic. Maria is admitted to practice law in Illinois.