Maria Baier was born and raised in Phoenix and has lived here most of her life. She comes from a small business background and now owns and runs, along with her brother, a business her family started in 1977.
She has served as the press secretary for the State Attorney General, a senior policy advisor in the Arizona Governor’s Office, an elected council member for the City of Phoenix and Arizona’s State Land Commissioner. She has also worked in executive positions for the Trust for Public Land, the Sonoran Institute, and Valley Partnership and was a sustainability consultant for SunCor Development Company. She currently serves on the boards of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, Phoenix Suns Charities, the Arizona and Phoenix Chambers of Commerce, and Downtown Phoenix, Inc.
She has a BA from ASU and a JD from UofA. Maria now works as the Vice President of External Affairs for Great Hearts America. Her daughters, Liz and Christy, are recent graduates of ASU and NAU respectively, and about to begin their professional lives.