In 2023, Maria was appointed Head of Governance and Company Secretary with ongoing responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion, and the Prevent Duty. Maria is also an Appointed Trustee on Bloomsbury Institute Student Guild’s Board of Trustees.
Maria joined Bloomsbury Institute in 2015 to work within the Quality Department, becoming Head of Quality in 2016. However, in 2019 she was appointed to a new position within Bloomsbury Institute – Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (whilst maintaining her role as Company Secretary and Prevent Lead).
Prior to joining us, Maria spent the first ten years of her career working for the Bank of England (primarily in their International Division and their Banking Supervision Division), she then moved into the education sector, taking up the position of Departmental Manager of the Language Centre at Royal Holloway, University of London. After two years, Maria moved to King’s College London where she spent nearly 18 years in a similar role as Departmental Manager in their English Language Centre.
Interests
Maria is passionate about providing our students with a high-quality academic experience and issues around equality and diversity. Maria believes she has had the perfect opportunity to combine these two interests over the last year through participating in a QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project that looked at the improvement of student learning by linking inclusion/ accessibility and academic integrity. Outside of work, Maria enjoys swimming although it is very much a case of stamina over speed and style!
Qualifications, Affiliations and Memberships
- BA (Hons) French
- Governance Professionals in HE Certificate
- Mental Health First Aider (MHFA)
External Memberships
- Advance HE – Race Equality Charter for Small and Specialist Institutions Design Group
- IHE Demonstrating Inclusive Cultures Working Group
- London Higher Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network
- London Higher Home from Home Project Group
- Prevent HE Network
Internal Memberships
- Academic Committee
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Chair)
- Senior Management Team
