TheBridge profile: Maria Underwood

Name: Maria Underwood

Current city: Birmingham, AL

Current job: Founder of Fundrage & VP of Development and Social Impact at YWCA Central Alabama

Past job: Senior Manager, Development and Strategic Partnerships at Vital Voices

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? O'Henry's in Homewood, AL or Bluestone Lane in D.C. or San Francisco

Maria joined Allie at SXSW to talk tech and social impact. TheBridge, The Oversight Board and SeedAI hosted an event in Austin, 3/13/22.

Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. The best skill I've ever learned in resiliency. In the fundraising and start up space, nothing typically goes to plan and being able to pivot, innovate and strategize quickly has helped me continue to move forward.

Q. Job advice in three words? Never say never.

Q. How are you (or your company) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech / innovation and regulation? Fundrage is the first of its kind google extension that allows people to react in real-time based on what they read in the news. It turns anger into action and connects nonprofits directly to politics, with the connector being the news.

Q. Why are you a part of The Bridge Community? We are more connected and distanced than ever - drowning in information but often short on knowledge. With the speed at which we report on, ingest and share the news, alongside how fast technology is advancing, constant collaboration and communication between the policy, tech, and social sectors is critical. The Bridge is so great at linking all of those worlds.


Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Innovation can happen quickly, with emotion behind it. Policy typically is thoughtful and thorough, a mixture of the two is where the best progress can happen.

Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Same answer as above :)

Q. Favorite long-form read you recommend? Reimagining Large-Scale Impact Philanthropy: An Interview with Merton Capital Founder Sean Davis is a fascinating read on how large donors and policy can work together to make the biggest social impact.

Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? Usually starts with middle of the night thoughts on what I should be doing as soon as I wake up, then a quick workout, lots of coffee, and then tackling my biggest project first when I'm fresh. After that it's answering emails, reacting to what my inbox dictates, and then dinner, wine and back online for more thoughtful and thorough planning.

Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Initiative. You can be most successful if you try, fail, and try again.

Q. Best advice you have received? Best advice I've gotten is from my dad when I was really young - hang in there, be tough and smile. There will be bad days but with a little bit of gumption and a positive attitude, you can get through it.

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