Maria was born and raised in Kavala and for the last 15 years she has been living in a rural area alongside the rural- urban continuum. With studies as an agronomist, a master’s degree in agricultural economics and a doctorate in rural sociology, she worked for years in the private sector, in training and empowerment programs for rural women, then in a Local Action Group of the LEADER program, in a Prefectural Public Body in the Department of Development and programming and since 2011 she is a professor of Rural Sociologist at Aristotle Univeristy of Thessaloniki involved both at teaching and researching. Her field of expertise lies within the transformation of rural societies, gender issues in rural studies, poverty, aging and rural migration as well as women's entrepreneurship, agrotourism and participatory methods of qualitative field research. One of the most creative moments of her academic life is when she spends time with farm women and listening to people’s stories and admiring the soundscapes and places of rurality.
