Maria Garcia ’05, JD ’08, an alumna of the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and the College of Law, has been elected the 28th president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

As president, Garcia will work with the Board of Directors to support the university by connecting alumni through networking opportunities; advocating for FIU’s priorities at all levels; engaging current students; and assisting in fundraising efforts.

“I am honored and very excited to lead the FIU Alumni Association as president,” Garcia said. “I look forward to a wonderful, productive year, and getting to know more of our excellent alumni and students during my tenure.”

Garcia is a health care and commercial litigation attorney at Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, and she was named a top lawyer in health care by South Florida Legal Guide in 2018. An engaged community member, she is also president-elect of the Cuban American Bar Association, vice chairperson of the City of Coral Gables Board of Adjustment and chairperson of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Business and Governmental Affairs Committee.

In her time at FIU, Garcia was heavily involved on campus. As an undergraduate, she was a student ambassador, a peer advisor, and a member of Order of the Torch, as well as Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. She was named Student Government Association Intern of the Year in 2001. After returning to FIU to earn her law degree, she served as president of the FIU College of Law Moot Court.

Designated a Forever Panther, Garcia has served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2012, and she is a past member of the FIU Law Alumni Circle.

“I look forward to working with Maria as we continue our mission to win the hearts of our 215,000-plus alumni. I have no doubt that under Maria’s transformational leadership we will turn the impossible into the inevitable,” said Duane Wiles, associate vice president and executive director for the Office of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving.

Garcia will be inducted as president for the 2018-2019 fiscal year at the Annual Cocktail Reception on May 17. Hosted at the Coral Gables Country Club, the event is free and open to all alumni. Click here for more information.