SPEAKERS

Maria Wren is a Coachella Valley native with a passion for
bringing opportunities to the youth of her community. After
learning much while studying business at FIDM in San Diego,
she felt the need to follow her true calling in life, to work with
the youth, and began down that path through the Early Childhood Education program at College of the Desert. Her path then took her into commercial lines insurance for a time, at both the agency and underwriting levels, where she gained valuable insight into contracts and legal issues. Knowledge gained along this path came together in 2010 when she co-founded the 501c(3) nonprofit organization Science Math and Robotic Technology Education. Maria continues to expand her efforts to help youth thrive through her work as a board member for two nonprofits, the Coachella Valley Community Trust and the Academy of Musical Performance. She has gained a new level of leadership knowledge through the California School Aged Consortium's year-long Emerging Leaders program, for which she received a certificate of recognition from the California Department of Education. Currently, Maria is expanding her understanding of nonprofit knowledge through the Nonporfit Management certificate program at UCR.

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