Maria Sliwa – Publicist

Maria is an accomplished adjunct faculty member at New York University's School of Professional Studies, Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies, where she has taught courses in Digital Media Management, Writing for Media and Communication, and Social Media since 2017. With a strong foundation in journalism, public relations, and human rights advocacy, she brings real-world expertise to her asynchronous and in-person classes, designing syllabi, leading discussions, and incorporating guest speakers to enrich student learning on topics such as media strategy, ethical writing, and emerging social technologies.

Sliwa's academic career spans prestigious institutions. From 2011 to 2017, she served as an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, assisting with Media Law courses by planning lessons, delivering lectures, and advising students. Earlier, at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute (2008–2012), she taught Foundations of Journalism, Journalism Ethics, and First Amendment Law, and organized panels with media leaders from the BBC, Associated Press, and Al Jazeera. She also taught at Rutgers University's Lifelong Learning Institute (2007–2009), delivering lectures on modern-day slavery and human trafficking, accompanied by multimedia presentations.

Her professional journey complements her teaching. As the principal of M. Sliwa Public Relations since 2005, Sliwa has promoted high-profile clients in politics, human rights, and finance, securing placements in outlets such as The New York Times, BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX News. She founded Freedom Now Communications in 1999, an internet news service that amplifies global human rights issues. Through this platform, she has highlighted atrocities, including genocide, rape, and torture in Sudan; imprisoned activists' plights; sweatshop labor; human trafficking; and the Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. Her advocacy influenced policy, such as prompting New York and New Jersey's 2001 divestment from Talisman Energy for complicity in Sudan's genocidal war. Collaborating with key journalists, she has provided research and publicity for aid organizations through print, social media, and broadcast.

In 2025, she directed media for Curtis Sliwa's New York City mayoral campaign, crafting messaging and handling press for major publications. Her investigative background includes serving as executive director at Beau Dietl & Associates (1991–2000), where she managed white-collar fraud investigations.

Her human rights commitment intertwines with extensive international travel and fieldwork in Bosnia, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, India, Peru, Russia, Sudan, and Uganda. These experiences involved aid, research, cultural exchanges, and reporting on local conditions, while informing US and International media on modern-day slavery, conflict-zone rape, ethnic tensions, and Tibetan self-immolation protests.

Sliwa holds a Master of Arts in Journalism from NYU (2005), a Master of Arts in Sociology from St. John's University (1996), and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from St. John's (1993, magna cum laude). She has presented at universities including Princeton and Columbia on human trafficking and slavery, and appeared on mainstream media, including ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Dateline. She is proficient in bridging academia and practice in media, communications and social justice.