Maria Breaux has been a presence in San Francisco's indie filmmaking sphere for over 20 years with films like "Vulveeta" and "Lucha," recognized respectively with Frameline Audience Awards. Her career spans directing, writing, producing, and acting, extending beyond film into plays, solo performances, and original music contributions. Maria is also a seasoned marketing writer for notable organizations like the Greater Good Science Center, Common Sense Media, and Pinterest, leveraging her expertise cultivated through a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University. Recently grappling with an unimaginable loss—the tragic passing of her brother, known locally in Davis, California, as "the Compassion Guy"—Maria wants to continue candidly sharing her journey in cultivating compassion amid grief, drawing from her brother's profound legacy of collecting definitions of compassion to navigate through the most challenging phase of her life.