Maria Banda Roberts is an associate professor with experience as a PK-12 teacher, school and district administrator, and higher education faculty. She holds a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of Texas in Austin, a Master of Education in Educational Administration from the University of Texas-Brownsville, and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the Univeristy of Texas-Pan American. Roberts worked with special education students at a state center for six years, in a bilingual elementary classroom setting for nine years, in central office leadership for four years, and in campus leadership for nine years before moving into higher education. She taught and coordinated principal and superintendent preparation at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Texas A&M-Texarkana for ten years before coming to UNLV, where she has been since 2017. Her areas of research interest are principal preparation programs, leadership for predominantly Hispanic and ELL schools, and innovative leadership. She has published in nationally recognized journals in leadership such as the Journal of Research in School Leadership and the Journal of Educational Administration.