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Maria Mehranian is Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Cordoba Corporation, a California based full-service engineering, construction management and program management firm specializing in the delivery of infrastructure projects in the transportation, water, energy, and education sectors with offices throughout California. Cordoba Corporation is ranked by Engineering News-Record (ENR) as a Top 50 Program Management Firm and a Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firm in the nation, as well as a Top 100 Design firm in California

Maria is directly responsible for the firm’s strategic financial planning and overseeing the company’s statewide financial operations. For 35 years, Maria has dedicated her career to building Cordoba Corporation into one of the nation’s top specialty services firms with its staff of engineers, designers, environmental specialists, and construction professionals from all over the world. For her efforts, Maria caught the attention of academic institutions and was featured in a case study by Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Maria earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Cordoba Corporation’s Transportation planning division. During that period, she conducted research on the travel patterns of the Downtown Los Angeles workforce. Her study was used to develop Regulation XV, a city ordinance promoting alternative commute modes in Downtown Los Angeles. As an urban planner she contributed to a number of large-scale infrastructure development projects such as the Downtown Strategic Plan, a blueprint of development that planned for 100,000 housing units in the area, which was intended to preserve and protect industrial zones while re-zoning underutilized areas for office spaces.

Maria is the former Chair the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she served two consecutive terms and led the Board in adopting the region’s landmark Stormwater Permit. As a water policy expert, Maria plays a pivotal role in the development of California’s water supply, quality, and resource policies. She participates in numerous water policy panels on water quality and supply issues, and serves as a guest lecturer for universities throughout the state. She continues to collaborate with teams of water engineers to develop state of the art guidelines for stormwater facilities throughout California.

Maria currently serves a member of the Delta Stewardship Council as an appointee of the Senate Rules Committee. In addition, Maria was recently appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to the County’s Safe, Clean Water Program’s Regional Oversight Committee (ROC). The ROC is an independent body that reviews all Regional Program Stormwater Investment Plans to ensure program goals are met. The ROC consists of nine (9) subject matter experts. Maria was appointed to serve on the ROC as a water quality/water supply expert.

Maria is a past Corporate Woman of the Year honoree, an award jointly presented by the legislators of the 43rd and 44th Assembly and 21st Senate Districts of California. In addition, Mujeres de da Tierra declared her an environmental champion and honored Maria with the 2016 Healer of La Madre Tierra award. Maria is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exemplifying outstanding qualities in both her personal and professional life while continuing to preserve the richness of her Armenian heritage.

Maria serves in leadership positions for several educational institutions and non-profit organizations. She serves as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Board at Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering and as a member of the Board of Trustees at Southwestern Law School.

Maria is the President of the Armenia Fund USA, which has raised more than $130M for humanitarian aid and infrastructure development in Armenia. In March 2019, Maria was invited to present at the sixty-third session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York City. She participated on a panel discussion focused on “Developing Infrastructure and Access to Public Services to Improve Gender Equality.” The presentation focused on the importance of promoting, sponsoring and funding specific types of infrastructure in developing countries that enhance women’s access to capital and ultimately results in economic and social empowerment of women.