April Member of the Month, Maria Kinaman, Client Solutions Manager, Facebook

Hometown & Current City: I currently reside in Miami, Florida, which is a whopping 40 miles from my hometown of Boca Raton. South Florida is home and it’s been great to watch it evolve.

Current job title and company? – I work for Facebook in the Sales organization as a Client Solutions Manager. I’ve been in this role for 6 years, yet not many days feel the same. Not just does tech change, but my clients evolve so frequently that I am constantly reinventing myself.

Describe your career journey. – I started working in a traditional agency in 2007. I fell in love with the glamour of print, especially magazines. What I would have done to have been a CondeNaste rep in early 2000s. The world was moving to digital, and I took a leap to move into a small boutique digital agency. A new world, and a whole new set of acronyms, but I got it. After a few years there I applied for my dream job at Facebook, helping clients build strategy with Facebook offerings. It took 7, yes 7, interviews, but I got it. 6 years, a marriage, and 2 little girls later, I’m here; a mom working in tech, learning every day.

Which three words would you use to describe your personality? Curious, Optimistic, Outgoing, C.O.O. Not 100% sure if curious is a personality trait but it defines a lot of what I do and why I do it.

Name a woman who inspires you and why. I’ve been learning a lot about women who performed the civic duties of building the social fabric of cities, things like parks and libraries. Most of these women were homemakers who didn’t produce income. They helped build things we take for granted today. They don’t get the credit they deserve and typically get dismissed as the Ladies who Lunch crowd, but they were/are far more than that. Miami has to that definitely “ran it”, Mary Brickell and Julia Tuttle. Here’s a great example; when Henry Flagler was building the railroad, he had plans to end it in West Palm Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami. These two ladies kept asking him to bring it further south, but he didn’t see the point. So, when a cold freeze rolled into South Florida and froze the crops of West Palm Beach but didn’t impact Miami, these two ladies decided to prove their point in the most hospitable way possible, by sending Mr. Flagler a fruit basket, full of Miami crops. Guess who got their railroad.

What committees/programs are you involved in with She Runs It? I started as a New Member and rolled into the Mentorship program as a Mentee which I am currently involved in. I’m currently part of the Chicago Ambassador group, until Miami gets enough members to have its own. Thanks for having me Chi ladies!

What advice would you give to fellow new members in making the most of their membership? My first Mentor from SRI did not come from the formal Mentor program. It came from me speaking up in a meeting and saying, “hey, this is where I want to grow” and someone responding with “hey, I can help you with that”. Do that! Know what you want as an outcome and find a way to ask for it. In the meeting, in a follow up email, via LinkedIn. Know what you want, then shoot your shot.

What do the words “She Runs It” mean to you? It means taking your own lead. Being the person who gets it done. Maybe not perfect, maybe not on time, but completed.