As Executive Director, Maura plays a key role in strengthening the center’s presence at UCLA, in Los Angeles and in the larger Israel Studies academic network. She manages the Center’s many public programs on diverse aspects of Israel, coordinates Center-supported teaching in Israel Studies in departments across campus, works closely with the Center’s community leadership, supervises Center staff, and serves as chief administrative officer. Maura joined the Center in 2010 with a strong background in non-profit management and a knowledge and love of Israel. Her professional career includes extensive experience in development, including positions at the Arthritis Foundation, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and the UCLA International Institute. She also has a strong background in government, as a legislative aide in the United States Senate, and in the private sector, as a marketing executive in Fortune 500 company Mattel Toys.

Maura is a native of Los Angeles, but attended high school in Jerusalem, graduating from the Hebrew University Secondary School (Tichon L’yad Ha’universita). She maintains close ties to Israel through friends and family around the country, and through her professional work. She is a member of the international Association for Israel Studies and a former trustee of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles and member of its annual "Yom Limmud" (Day of Learning) committee. In other philanthropic and community activities, Maura is an active supporter of Polyphony Education, a non-profit based in Nazareth, Israel that works to bridge the divide between Israeli Arab and Jewish communities through classical music education, and a founding member of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA)'s Southern California Chapter.

Maura holds a B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University (Connecticut) and an MBA from UCLA.