As a Senior Awards Management Associate at Lever for Change, Maris supports all aspects of customized competitions by reviewing and analyzing proposals, conducting data analysis, and providing ongoing support to donor partners and finalist teams.

Prior to joining Lever for Change, Maris worked in the arts and culture nonprofit space, most recently at the Poetry Foundation as the Manager of Board Relations, and prior to that, in exhibition curation and community programming at several museums (Block Museum of Art, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center). She concurrently held an editorial and research role for international relations publications at Northwestern University. Maris is also a professional musician; performing in a duo with her twin sister, she has collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Anchorage (Alaska) Symphony Orchestra, Steppenwolf Theatre, and members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Maris is a graduate of Northwestern University with an M.S. in Leadership for Creative Enterprises and a B.A. in political science, music performance, and art history.