Education 

Maria is a BA Geography graduate from Durham University. Her degree educated her on a range of social and political issues as well as giving her important social research skills, such as completing her research-based dissertation that explored young people’s attitudes to immigration through a series of focus groups.  

Relevant Past Experience 

In 2023, Maria took on an additional freelance role as a Project Coordinator at Leaders Unlocked.  This was for a co-designed peer-led research project for Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner which aimed to empower young people to voice their opinions on police and crime.  

Current role at TONIC 

Maria is a Researcher and Analyst and Co-production Lead at TONIC. Maria has assisted on a variety of projects at TONIC since June 2022, conducting research with victims and perpetrators of crime and service users, as well as quantitative and qualitative data analysis. She has experience conducting research in multiple prisons and probation areas across the UK, facilitating qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus groups with prisoners and people on probation. As co-production lead, Maria is responsible for ensuring the principles of co-production are embedded into all approaches and methodologies at TONIC.   

TONIC Projects  

Maria has supported on a variety of projects at TONIC including the Prison Leavers Project Evaluation for the Ministry of Justice, an Independent Evaluation of the Blended Supervision Model in the National Probation Service, Medway Family Hub Insights, Mapping, and Gap Analysis Project and a Drug and Alcohol Needs Assessment in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Currently, she is taking a leading role on a Serious Violence Community Consultation for Warwickshire County Council which has involved facilitating body mapping workshops with young people to explore their experiences of crime and violence.