Maria Alonso is a senior executive and community leader with a rich history of civic involvement in South Florida. Recently named the CEO and Dean of the new Northeastern University Miami campus, Ms. Alonso also serves as an Independent Board Director of U.S. Century Bank (NASDAQ: USCB), one of Florida’s largest community banks.
A former president and CEO of United Way Miami and former corporate social responsibility manager at Bank of America, Ms. Alonso has an uncanny ability to identify, connect, and leverage opportunities that benefit the community as well as participating partners and organizations.
As Bank of America’s corporate social responsibility manager for the Miami market, she was responsible for achieving the bank’s charitable giving objectives, Community Reinvestment Act targets, and employee engagement goals, strengthening Bank of America’s brand among clients, consumers, investors, and the community at large.
Ms. Alonso was tapped to become United Way Miami president and CEO in August 2017. There, she guided the strategic direction, operations, and finances of the largest private funder of health and human services in Miami-Dade County.
Ms. Alonso graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and earned her MBA in Marketing from Florida International University. The combination of these two educational disciplines shapes her business approach: eminently practical, while simultaneously imagining huge possibilities.
Ms. Alonso has served as Board Chair for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and, at Beacon Council, was a co-chair of the One Community One Goal initiative. She has served on the boards of the Miami Dade College Foundation and Camillus House, and is a member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association and National Association of Corporate Directors.
Maria Alonso resides in Coral Gables with her husband Alex Montague, their energetic rescue dogs, and one “inherited” cat.