Maria Flores-Harris, Ph.D. is a native of Galveston, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin (BA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SM) before entering the U.S. Army. She served four years as a tactical intelligence officer in the U.S. and overseas prior to joining a Houston search firm in 1991.

She has over 30 years of combined academic-professional search experience - almost 20 of that specializing in credentialed faculty, academic/professional staff, and executive administrative academic search. She earned her doctorate at Rice University (1998).

Maria retired from higher ed recruiting in December 2020 and joined Debbie Taylor's Rail and Transportation recruiting team in 2021, embarking on a new career in rail and transportation search. She is an avid reader, walker, and consumer of Retro Reel classic movies. She is based in the Houston, Texas area.