About Me

Maria Thorpe leads a mentoring program called Gal’s Lead, teaching young ladies about the four pillars of success which are to:

Know Yourself (2) Dream Big (3) Overcome Obstacles and (4) Take Action.

Through the program, I assist them in developing confidence, connections, and career clarity to live their most awesome life.

Ms. Thorpe is the co- owner of The Waldorf Chess Club Inc., which she founded with her husband. She works with kids as young as five, teaching them how to find their inner strength through the game of chess. In addition to the apparent critical thinking and strategic planning skills, people learn to hone their decision making, and youngsters learn confidence and goal setting. The Club is open to anyone interested in learning to play chess, for private lessons, casual play, and tournament play.

Ms. Thorpe is a graduate of Naval Post Graduate School, Senior Leader Seminar; Leadership Southern MD, the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) with a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy, Pennsylvania State University with a Master of Engineering, Engineering Science degree and a graduate of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Ms. Thorpe has received numerous awards and honors, including but not limited to the following: 2022 Dept of the Navy HBCU/MI program Administrating Office of the Year; 2021 Maryland Mother of the Year; The Carolyn E. Parker Foundation, Legacy Leader Award; The Black Engineer of the Year Award for Community Service; Department of Defense Women’s History Month STEM Role Model Award; The Women of Color Technology & Defense Award for Outstanding Achievements in Government; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Honorary Award, for Excellence in Leadership.

Maria is a native of Philadelphia, PA and lives in Waldorf, MD. Ms. Thorpe is married to Roland Jr. and has two sons, Roland III and Malcolm.