Maria Beckman is an attorney who has practiced in the education and civil rights law fields, including with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Civil Rights Law Office, the University of Central Florida, and currently with Legal Aid of West Virginia. She has served as secretary, grant administrator, and board member of the Harpers Ferry- Bolivar Historic Town Foundation, in which capacity she assisted in the development of the Harpers Ferry Black Heritage Walking Tour.
She believes that understanding and remembering the lives, struggles, and achievements of the people who spent time here helps us to feel connected to them, to this place, and to each other. She is still amazed by the natural beauty of this place and its power to heal. She believes that preserving and safeguarding this place for all people to experience now and for the future is a sacred responsibility.
