Researcher at the Center for Urban Studies, a guest lecturer in social studies and participatory urban planning at the Kharkiv School of Architecture and the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture.

Maria studied sociology at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, having a Master's degree in sociology. She participated in short interdisciplinary educational programs and summer schools for urban researchers and planners in Georgia, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Romania, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and Estonia.

She participated in interdisciplinary projects in the field of urban development and education for urban planners and civic activists as a researcher, expert in the field of research and involvement, as well as a facilitator of educational processes. She worked in the teams of CANactions School, the project "Integrated Urban Development of Ukraine", Cedos, CUS. She contributed to the writing of the sections on Integrated Spatial Development of the second edition of the manual for territorial communities: "A practical manual on spatial planning of territories designed for employees of executive bodies of local self-government", and also participated in the creation of an educational platform for communities within the framework of the project "Integrated Spatial Planning for Amalgamated Territorial Communities", implemented by CANactions School with the support of ULEAD.

The key areas of Maria's research interest are urban communities, urban grassroots movements and participation practices of citizens in decision-making processes, implementation of policies in the field of involvement of key actors and stakeholders in spatial development processes, and development of humanitarian education in the field of spatial planning. Key publications include research on the network of urban grassroots initiatives in Ukrainian cities and the interaction of civil society institutions with local authorities in Ukrainian cities.

At the Center for Urban History, she received a scholarship, with the support of the University of Lund, and participates in projects to document the experiences of war; she will also be joining educational initiatives.