Maria Russo is a photographer, writer and editor whose work has been featured by Architectural Digest, People Magazine, Inc., Forbes, National Geographic, BBC America, The Huffington Post, AFAR, Google Field Trip, LensCulture, Sony Alpha, and VII Photo Agency among others. She is an ongoing contributor to National Geographic Your Shot and was a finalist in the Nature Conservancy Photo Contest 2023.

Russo has traveled the globe exploring societal/cultural relationships with the natural world and our human impact on the environment. It was through these experiences that she began working on brand journalism projects with tourism boards and hotels aimed at highlighting crucial themes such as sustainable travel, community-led development, climate resilience/biodiversity, and gender-responsive economic initiatives.

As the Co-Founder of The Culture-ist, an online magazine and creative agency focused on travel and social impact, Russo successfully merged her passion for storytelling with her strategic marketing and creative direction skills. The Culture-ist not only amplifies stories that matter but also offers bespoke marketing solutions to brands aiming to make a positive impact on the world. Through thoughtful digital marketing strategies, including SEO, SEM, email marketing, social media, and content marketing, the magazine and agency enhances a brand’s online presence and engagement by analyzing performance and market trends to report on ROI, making data-driven decisions to optimize future marketing efforts.

During the early stages of her career, Russo worked in various areas of media and television at companies such as MTV Networks, People Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Warner Bros. and WOR News Talk Radio. She has worked with an expansive roster of brands including Allbirds, Plant People, Vittoria Coffee, Google, Ford, Alila, The Four Seasons, Aman Resorts and AOL Lifestyle among others. Russo interviewed Janet Jackson, Walter Cronkite, Seth Meyers, Christie Brinkley, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Adrian Grenier, Sharon Osborne, Angela Basset, Shannon Doherty and Glenn Close for People Magazine. She was also a contributing writer for Inc.com.

In 2016, Russo developed a graduate-level course in collaboration with Susanne Althoff, former editor-in-chief of the Boston Globe Magazine, for Emerson College. The course was titled: “Topics in Writing and Publishing: Writing and Editing for TheCultureist.com.”