Marie lives in South Minneapolis with her two cats and one dog, not far from the Studio501 office. Her one and only child is a junior at the University of Minnesota, studying Geography and Urban Studies.

Originally from Florida, Marie moved to the Midwest to attend college in Iowa, where she majored in Psychology and Russian. After college, Marie’s first job was as the Aquatics Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Minneapolis.

In addition to serving as a swim instructor and head swim team coach, Marie discovered an aptitude for grant writing, securing funding for the aquatics program. After tiring of working evenings and weekends as a swim coach, she made an internal move to the Development Office, where she focused primarily on government funding. That work eventually led to a role in the accounting department, where she helped with the merger of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Boys & Girls Clubs.

Since then, Marie has continued to build her career in nonprofit accounting, with a brief detour into corporate accounting for a few years. Her experience includes budgeting, tracking restricted funding, government grant reporting, and Single Audits, as well as helping staff and board members understand the complexities—and occasional oddities—of nonprofit accounting. She especially enjoys helping nonprofits develop systems that allow them to spend less time on finance and more time focused on their mission-driven work.

When she’s not counting other people’s money, Marie is counting laps in the pool. She is an active USMS Masters swimmer, swim coach, and adult learn-to-swim instructor, combining her lifelong love of swimming with her passion for helping adults become more confident and capable in the water.