For nearly 20 years, Miami Beach has been home to Maria Chang Mayer. It’s the birthplace of her three daughters (two attend North Beach Elementary and the other, Temple Beth Sholom). Simply stated, Miami Beach has it all for Mayer — high-quality and diverse people who are interesting, talented, and caring, and a real sense of community for her family.
Mayer, who moved to South Florida from El Salvador when she was 11, even worked her first paying job in South Florida. As a student at Miami Jackson Senior High School, Mayer’s first job was working as a cashier at Publix during high school summer break.
She left the area only to attend college, and, little did she know at the time, to meet her future husband, Emanuel, while studying abroad in Aix-en- Provence, France. She graduated with a degree in English from the University of Florida and continued her studies at UF’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law, where she received her J.D., with honors.
Although Mayer is a practicing corporate attorney — she’s been with the law firm Carlton Fields since 2007 — she finds herself working in the capacity of a trusted business advisor to her clients, helping them find practicable solutions, and most importantly, helping them make their business dreams come true.
“My clients have big ideas and I enjoy guiding them in pursuit of meeting their business goals.” Mayer’s genuine drive to excel in her profession is shared with her work and commitment to the Miami Beach community.
“I look up to people who have been involved in our community for decades and who have done so retaining their good name and integrity.”
As a Miami Beach leader, Mayer continuously invests her time in the community. Most recently, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the SoBe Institute of Arts, after participating in programs with her children and exuding a natural desire to help children have access to the arts. Music is a big part of the Mayer household — her children play a variety of instruments and her husband is a seasoned musician.
In 2009, she was a candidate for the Miami Beach City Commission. She is a graduate of the City of Miami Beach Leadership Academy and currently serves on the Transportation and Parking Committee for the City of Miami Beach.
Her involvement with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce has been gradually increasing — first as a Pillar member, then as a member of the Chamber’s Pillar Board of Directors and now as a member of the Chamber’s Board of Governors and a member of the Chamber’s Advocacy Committee.
Mayer also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund, Miami-Dade region.
The City of Miami Beach and the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce offer Mayer and her family opportunities they might not otherwise have, including meeting high-quality people from all walks of life who share the same passion and commitment to the betterment of the Miami Beach community.
“You only live once,” Mayer said. “To live and work in a community that truly cares offers those who want to make a difference a unique opportunity and I’m fortunate to be a part of the fabric of this community.”
