Maria Garcia Berry
Founding Partner & Chairman of the Board - CRL Associates
Maria Garcia Berry is the founding partner of CRL Associates. In 1981 she launched the firm in Denver establishing CRL with a commitment to strategic, effective and insightful governmental public affairs. Today CRL Associates, Inc. is one of the leading governmental public affairs companies in the country.
Maria is well known for her ability to navigate complex issues, many never-before-encountered in the rapidly evolving economies in which we work; always striving to find a productive solution that benefits each involved party. She has represented many CRL clients for more than two decades, thanks to her strong ability to connect with her clients’ vision, and strategically keeping focused ahead of their organizational challenges. Her reputation extends well beyond her home state of Colorado, often invited to consult and present on topics such as public transit development and creative public-private partnership building across the country.
Maria Garcia Berry is a native of Matanzas, Cuba, coming to the United States as part of Operacion Pedro Pan, the largest one time migration of unaccompanied minors in the history of the US. With a personal passion for mentorship and entrepreneurship in both Denver and Cuba, Maria is highly active in the Cuban American communities in Colorado and nationally.
She believes strongly in civic involvement. Over the last four decades she has served on numerous boards and commissions; including, but not limited to, the Board of Trustees of Metropolitan State University of Denver, the Board of Trustees of the Auraria Higher Education, and has been a founding member of the Latino Leadership Institute.
She currently serves as Chairwoman of the Biennial of the Americas, a member of the second Judicial Nominating Committee, the Capitol Building Advisory Committee, the C12 Foundation, the Cuba Study Group, and Opera Colorado. Ms. Garcia Berry has received numerous awards and recognitions, the most recent being the Denver Business Journals Lifetime Achievement Award given to her in August of 2023.
