Maria Tucker

Maria Tucker, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Jeremiah Program’s Las Vegas campus. She has been an executive leader and consultant for 25 years, partnering with nonprofits and NGOs, colleges and universities, and government entities. Through fundraising efforts, she has mobilized more than $14 million for community programs in the fields of education, youth development, environmental justice, crimmigration, and community health. She has developed evidence-based, sustainable programs and project solutions in the United States and abroad.

At Pomona College, Maria was founding director of the school’s first community partnerships center, launching 12 projects with 50+ community partners. She also re-organized and re-invigorated a pre-college program for first-generation and low-income students, leading to hundreds of students being admitted to colleges and universities.

Given her sociology and public policy training, Maria has overseen several measurement, evaluation, and learning (MEL) projects. She approaches MEL with the understanding that project outcomes tell their stories and help identify improvements needed for greater impact.

Maria holds a Ph.D. in environmental sociology from the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability and a Master of Public Policy from Claremont Graduate University.

Maria is a certified SCUBA diver. She’s recently called Phnom Penh Cambodia home. And although she’s a SoCal girl, Maria is currently rooted in the Las Vegas valley, where she enjoys hiking in Red Rock Canyon and shooting with her Canon 60D. Maria’s greatest honor is to be called “Ma” by Taj, whom she raised as a single parent while an undergraduate at University of California, Riverside.