Maria Peters is what you might call a creative idiot… In a good way. She comes to us with a background in radio broadcasting, comedy improvisation and education program design.
The common thread woven throughout Maria’s working life is her intrinsic love of people. In particular, the psychology of human behaviour.
From her early career as a radio show host in New Zealand to writing and performing comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to designing educational programs in Saudi Arabia, Maria’s working life has literally spanned the globe.
Maria has always had a particular passion for audience engagement in the heritage sector. She loved her five years working in the learning team at the Science Museum designing and presenting science programs.
She has a wealth of experience working with organisations focused on developing their in-house mentoring and coaching schemes as well as apprenticeship programs. Within that remit, she is proud to count The National Gallery, The Museum of London, the London Transport Museum, and Bletchley Park as regular working partners.
Maria’s real talent is in her ability to transform complex learning concepts into interactive educational experiences. Using this expertise, Maria has worked with brands such as Google, BP, and Volkswagen, in partnership with smaller museums and charities such as St Mungo’s and The Floating Classroom reaching traditionally inaccessible audiences.
What makes us do what we do? What makes us laugh, learn, get motivated and succeed?
One of her career highlights is working in Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Maria was tasked to help set up a learning program for a new Science Centre called Mishkat. As part of this, many women were trained to present science demonstrations to children. This innovative project broke many conventional gender norms yet the program was so successful that it continues to this day.
Maria teaches and performs comedy improvisation. Do you remember the TV show ‘Whose line is it anyway?’ Well, she teaches exactly that: the ability to speak and act with confidence in the moment, without a script. At the heart of Improvisation is the idea of being present and working with the resources you have to hand. Improvisation is not only an art-form that entertains on stages but increasingly businesses are recognising that the key skills used being creative under pressure are exceptional team models for the workplace.
Maria loves introducing people to improvisation and has been invited to perform and teach at festivals around the world.
Maria Peters- Senior Training Consultant
