Maria Sokol has more than 25 years of experience in education and over 12 years of experience as an application and grant writer and reviewer. Maria graduated from Boston College and started her career at the M.L. King, Jr. Elementary School in Washington, DC. She then earned an M.Ed. from George Washington University before moving to California where she collaborated with a family to open and operate a private middle school in Palo Alto. To address the gap in services, Maria attained an M.Ed. in social policy from Harvard. After nearly a decade working at the New York State Education Department in Brooklyn (where time was split in the Office of Accountability and Charter School Office), she began writing and reviewing charter school applications for state education departments, national and local organizations.
Application writing organically morphed into grant writing. Over the past few years, Maria has helped organizations supplement programming by writing concise and compelling grant applications that articulate mission-aligned priorities and capture funders’ interest, securing federal, state, city, and private grant funds. She specializes in grants geared toward K-12 education, mental health, and the arts. She has enjoyed collaborating with clients in more than 20 states. Maria currently lives in Sarasota, FL where her two teen sons are in high school.