Maria is a highly respected education leader with a long track record of working collaboratively across schools, trusts, local authorities and national bodies to drive rapid and sustainable improvement. She currently serves as a RISE Advisor for the Department for Education, supporting the development and delivery of England’s new sector‑led improvement programme. Previously, Maria was the founding CEO of Schools Alliance for Excellence and STSN, a school-led company that provides school improvement and leadership development for schools in Surrey and other local regions.  Maria is passionate about a school-led system, believing bringing all schools, providers and partners together creates educational facilities that are more than the sum of their parts.  In her previous work she has facilitated the development of multi-academy trusts and developed strong new MATs. Her previous roles included Senior HMI and Deputy Regional Schools Commissioner.