Owner, Chair, Past President

Maria graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Hygiene & is the recipient of the 1999 University of Pennsylvania Dental Hygiene Alumni Achievement Award. She is also a 2003 winner of the Pfizer/ADHA Award for Excellence in Dental Hygiene. Maria is a graduate of the 2004-2006 fellowship of the California Health Care Foundation’s (CHCF) Health Care Leadership Program, administered by the Center for Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco. She is visiting faculty at the Universities of Rome, La Sapineza, and Pisa.

As a noted researcher, author, and speaker, Maria has presented seminars nationally and internationally on topics such as Women’s Health and Wellness, Oral Care for the Cancer Patient, Oral Cancer, and Immunology and Periodontal Disease. She has appeared on several network television interviews regarding the link between periodontal disease and systemic disease, and appeared on the Fox Health Network/WEBMD.TV -- The "Cutting Edge Medical Report.” She has taken part in a number of radio interviews have been conducted across the country, to emphasize the importance of oral health as a foundation for systemic health and a beautiful smile.

Maria is a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Smoking Cessation Leadership Center. Maria is on the National Advisory Committee for The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF), and co-chair of the Dental Hygienist Division of the Toothfairy Campaign, and is an Honorary Member of “Il Chirone” Academy. Maria served as the 1997-98 President of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), served on an advisory panel to develop “The Future of Dental Hygiene Report.”, and is the President of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH).