Thrive Activator On Demand Toolkit Blog

Hey! I’m Maria.

I’m what they call an accidental nonprofit marketer.

 
 
 
 

My journey began as a health educator in a small Ghanaian village with the U.S. Peace Corps. With a newly minted journalism degree to my name, I approached teaching health through what I did best—telling stories. 

It worked.

I joined the Peace Corps in hopes of launching a writing career. I came home with a passion for service. I struggled deeply with writing stories about vulnerable and marginalized communities or making changes happen on the ground. 

I snagged a nonprofit communications position and found home.

There was a way to reconcile my love for storytelling with my passion for public service. 

For years, I fumbled through the nonprofit marketing world. I was quickly tasked with projects I had no experience with and little expertise in

I didn't know what "benchmarks" or "KPIs" meant. It took me eight months to write my first marketing strategy, which I think was 14 pages long.

I felt overwhelmed and in way over my head. I was often burned out and always thought that I didn't belong or deserve to be in the nonprofit marketing space.

Let me tell you, I took that energy and spent it taking advantage of every nonprofit marketing webinar, conference, workshop, and training I could get my hands on. I earned a Master's in Public Administration and was hell-bent on building a successful career in nonprofit marketing.

 
hero_background-2.png
 

 I figured it out. Eventually. I worked my way up to create and grow successful digital marketing programs in some of the largest public health nonprofits in New York City.

 
 
 

Then my first daughter blew into my life like a tornado. After a few months of feeling like I was running on a hamster wheel, I ditched the 9-5 nonprofit job.

That’s when I started Maria Bryan Creative, a nonprofit marketing consultancy—this time with a great deal of intention.

My consultancy was built out of a desire to balance career and motherhood. We moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where my family and business grew.

Over the past five years, my consultancy has been a hub for teaching, consulting, and guiding organizations in marketing and storytelling strategy.

 
Botanical_Background.png
 

In 2022, I faced another significant turning point.

(are we sensing a theme here?)

 
 

I was teaching a nonprofit storytelling and marketing class when a student posed a question that reshaped my trajectory—

how does trauma-informed storytelling fit into your marketing framework? 

This question led me down a transformative path of self-discovery, propelling me to bridge the gap between trauma-informed care and nonprofit storytelling.

I halted direct services and pursued certifications in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation.

Today, my consultancy is committed to supporting nonprofit leaders to tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm by incorporating trauma-informed care into their storytelling. My mission is to make trauma-informed storytelling accessible, especially for those without a social work background.

From my days studying journalism, climbing the nonprofit profession ladder, marketing consulting with nonprofit leaders, to my current and most purpose-driven role of trauma-informed storytelling training—one truth has been weaved through my entire career:

Stories are sacred.

And storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place.

circle_background.png

More
Importantly...

 

I believe Stories are meaningful, that ally is a verb, in radical empathy, and in celebrating wins.

And I’m a hype mom to two toddler girls, enneagram six, true crime aficionado, and daily napper.

Wanna hang out?