Maria Paravantes is a professional journalist, translator, media consultant and, as of late, blogger. She has worked as international media advisor to the Greek minister of foreign affairs and the mayor of Athens, developing, coordinating and implementing far-reaching communications strategies. Her work covering a wide variety of social, political and cultural issues has been published in Greek and international media. She was the Greece correspondent for Billboard magazine and has experience as a foreign language educator for over a decade.

Maria is a social-anthropologist by study, a writer by profession and music-loving foodie at heart. She studied and worked in the Windy City before moving to Greece, where she travelled till she dropped in her lifelong effort to recapture the nostalgia of her childhood trips to the Motherland. In these two decades she has experienced social change first hand and is dedicated to presenting the objective side of the story called “Greece."

Her latest pet project -- The Greek Vibe (www.thegreekvibe.com) -- is a blog dedicated to bringing Greek music closer to the world.