Dr. deMaría teaches field-based, experiential courses that offer students opportunities to be creative and develop multimedia production capacities within the context of community and environment. She has more than fifteen years teaching experience at the University of New Mexico. She developed three field-based courses on community engagement, which are all successful collaborations of community and student-centered learning. She offers students real-world knowledge based on her experiences as a journalist, which was not only an experience in storytelling, but also a first-hand education with the landscape, politics and cultures in the Southwest region. Students value her ability to guide them in their navigation of cultural landscapes in New Mexico. She has also been successful teaching graduate level courses on digital media, on place, space and culture, on intercultural communication and qualitative methods and analysis. She encourages critical thinking and supports students in enhancing their ability to articulate and understand culture and environment. She challenges students to enlighten themselves by reaching for ways to make their education useful to their future goals and successes within the communities that surround them.

Dr. deMaría is a community engaged researcher and photojournalist with social and cultural ties to New Mexico communities. Her research and creative projects aim to uplift community-based stories and Indigenous land-based methods as the foundation for understanding. She was honored with the 2023 and 2018 University of New Mexico Sarah Belle Brown Faculty Community Service Award, which recognizes her outstanding service to communities in New Mexico. She is optimistic about opportunities to further develop field schools and service learning courses based in local communities. She believes that service to the community is an essential part of education and she is hopeful about providing more opportunities for students to serve local communities.