Maria A. Bianco-Dorfner, American Television producer, reporter. National Honors Society Member Sigma Tau Delta. Member, National Association of Healthcare Communicators. Author. Board member.
Background
Maria is the daughter of Aniello and Anna. She has two siblings, two nieces, one nephew, and twenty-four cousins. Once a year the family has a reunion to celebrate the lives of their grandparents who instilled integrity, strong work ethic and a strong family bond of unconditional love in them.
Maria spoke Italian until first grade. She was sent home to learn English. She is tri-lingual. Her father owned two Italian restaurants in Brooklyn, New York where she was raised. He also worked construction in NYC on many famous landmarks in order to enable his children to go to college. Maria's mother worked part-time as a seamstress. Both are retired.
Education
Maria is Catholic and attended private Catholic grade school and high school. Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Pace University Dyson School of Arts and Sciences, 1986. Master, Columbia University, 1988. National Honors.
At 22-years-old, she graduated with honors in English Literature and Political Science from college, accepted a full-time position at NBC network and moved to New York City. Her middle name Angelina is her grandmother's name. As of 2019, Maria is single. She is quoted as saying, "Choosing a lifetime partner is one the most important decisions you make in life. A person's character is what I value most. I once read a quote that said, "My tastes are simple. I like only the very best.' That's me. It would take an incredible, highly intelligent man of character for me to marry him. If I don't it's a sign he's not the one because I know what I don't want." She has received two Lifetime Achievement Awards and is an avid reader. She loves exploring new places and learning new things. She blogs about health and wellness.
Maria's growing interest in media encouraged her to obtain an internship at NBC. While she worked part-time at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City during college at Pace University, she visited the nearby studios of NBC frequently. Mostly, she took studio tours while her lunch breaks provided daily during tours. One person was always asked to volunteer to be Johnny Carson on a faux set. Maria volunteered so many times she thought they'd say give someone else a chance now.
Then, one day she saw Connie Chung in her department. Maria worked in the petite department but was asked to cover for someone in the men's tie department on the main floor. It was then she spotted Chung. She asked someone to cover for her and approached Chung, who was then anchoring Sunrise, a prelude to the Today Show, an early-morning show which Maria watched. She introduced herself and told Chung she was an English/Political Science major and wondered what advice Chung could give her to break into NBC. Chung said she was also an English/Political Science major and that Maria reminded of her when she was young. She recommended an internship.
The next day, Maria went to her college to inquire about internships. She started at NBC as an intern. A year later, her desk would end up being outside of Bryant Gumbel and Connie Chung's office. She got to thank Connie personally and she continued to mentor her while there.