Maria Alvarado
Senior Vice PresidentMaria is a Senior Vice President at Mercury’s Austin office, bringing twenty years of experience in the political, governmental, and corporate arenas, where she has run strategic communications efforts in a host of issue areas. At Mercury, Maria focuses on message development and media strategy for a broad range of clients.
Press Secretary to former New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn
Director of Public Affairs for the Alliance for Downtown New York
Recognized in City & State’s “40 Under 40” in New York politics and government
Read Full BioMercury is home to more than one hundred experts that collaborate on local and global high-stakes challenges.
see expertsMaria is a strategic communications advisor guiding clients in message development, strategic planning, and media engagement.
Over the past two decades, her work has successfully helped elevate branding, drive business strategies, advance policy initiatives, and mitigate crises. Spanning the public and private sectors, past and current clients include Fortune 500 and 50 corporations, start-ups and industry disruptors, public advocacy and not-for profit organizations, political candidates, and trade associations.
Maria has worked extensively in public service; as Press Secretary for the New York City Council and Speaker’s Office, she ran policy-focused communications strategies in the nation’s largest media market. Her work included coordinating the media planning and rollout for seven $50 billion+ budgets, major city rezonings, and groundbreaking legislation.
Prior to Mercury, Maria served as the Director of Public Affairs at one of the nation’s largest business districts and a leading public-private institution. In that role, she advanced messaging and branding, helping drive the global conversation on Lower Manhattan’s transformation.
A graduate of Wellesley College, Maria currently lives in Austin with her husband, daughter, and son.