Bio

María Spencer Neider is a public relations and government affairs professional with over fifteen years of experience supporting various industries, like state & local government, small businesses, fitness, wellness, trade, travel, and hospitality. María has an M.A. in International Relations and a B.A. in Political Science, both from the Autonomous University of Mexico. Born and raised in Oaxaca in southern Mexico, María is multilingual, fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, and has worked in various countries outside the U.S. María moved to California in 2010 after working for an international cruise line. Since then, María has worked for the California Restaurant Association, Active Bodywork, a Norther California wellness company that María co-owns and co-founded, and the California State Legislature. In her most recent role, as the Director for the Assembly Democratic Caucus, Speakers Office of Communications and Outreach, Maria oversees and manages a group of 60 policy and communications experts in the areas of public policy, public affairs and outreach, data and technology, press and media, events, podcasts, research and strategy, mass communications and digital innovation. Additionally, María serves as the primary public relations consultant for all 60 (+-) assemblymembers in the Democratic Caucus, all Democratic-led caucuses, and partner manager for all external entities, including press and media, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the California Governors teams, state regulatory bodies, and technology partners like Twitter, Meta, TikTok, Adobe, Drupal, Tableau, Zoom, Slack, and others.