Chattanooga Venturing Speaker Series: Maria Noel

​Maria Noel was an original staff member at Chattanooga Venture, which introduced Chattanoogans to the Vision 2000 consensus-building process in the early 1980s. Its success in setting an agenda for the city’s revitalization, through grassroots input, continues to impact how we see ourselves and our community progressing some 45 years later.

​A Chattanooga native, Maria is a communications and marketing consultant, grant writer, and author of two books highlighting the contributions of local African Americans. She also is a professional storyteller, meeting facilitator, and public speaker. During her professional career, she advanced the growth of businesses owned by African Americans, women, and other historically disadvantaged groups. Maria managed a commercial incentive program that created over 1,600 local jobs and over $450 million in construction and wage investments. She consulted with the Guatemalan government in its establishment of Latin America’s first Opportunity Zone, an initiative of former President George W. Bush; and she presented The Chattanooga Story: Revitalization through Community Visioning to 600 Latin American mayors during international conferences in Miami.

​She has assisted city and county governments and nonprofits in securing over $30 million in federal and foundation grants, and served on a statewide task force that created policies for recruiting grocery stores into food deserts.

​The City’s first black female newspaper reporter, Maria also is a 1987 Leadership Chattanooga graduate. She is a recipient of the Trust for Public Land’s 2024 Tennessee Community Catalyst Award; the 2022 Community Champion Award from The Bethlehem Center; and the 2015 Passion for Diversity Award from Volkswagen Group of America Inc./Chattanooga Operations LLC.