Maria Mallett Builds a Home, and a Family. | MCorp

Maria Mallett needed some cajoling and soul searching before joining M Corp, leaving a major financial-services firm for the still-developing startup.

?I was just too nervous to make the move at the time,? recalls Maria, who was in project management with Franklin Templeton Investments in Rancho Cordova for 12 years before joining M Corp. ?I vacillated for a couple of years.?

But her friend Carrie Czajkowski ? an M Corp employee and sister of partner Chuck Czajkowski ? continued to recruit her and finally swayed Maria.

?I?m glad Carrie convinced me to come over,? says Maria, whose hesitation as a wife, mother and homeowner is understandable. But as a project manager at Franklin Templeton, she had hit the glass ceiling unless she wanted to enter management. ?I figured it was time for a change.?

Her first project for M Corp was as a solo contractor for the state Department of Mental Health Services.

?In some ways it?s been the most rewarding project; I did it on my own,? says Maria, who admits to being nervous taking on the project. ?I felt very exposed. I was trying to figure out where I fit in, with M Corp and Mental Health Services.?

Maria definitely fits in with M Corp. She enjoys the always-changing challenges and tackling projects, sometimes multiple projects at the same time.

Currently, Maria has three projects ? First 5 California, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Controller?s Office ? after completing a 2 ?-year project with the Employment Development Department. She also has handled a feed and fertilizer inspection project for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

?I like the work, it?s kind of like a puzzle,? says Maria, adding part of her job is educating workers. ?We don?t want to do it for them; we want to put the practice in place.?

As M Corp has grown, so too has its policies. Maria was the first employee to use M Corp?s paid family leave.

?We knew we wanted another child, so we looked at adoption,? says Maria, who has ?been married to her husband, Dave, for 13 years. The couple have an 11-year-old son, Kyle. ?When we were accepted as a match, everything happened very quickly.?

Last May, Maria and her family adopted Abby, a 2-year-old from the Bay Area. Maria stayed at home with Abby for three months, and then returned part-time to M Corp and the EDD project.

?I wanted to have bonding time with her,? says Maria. ?I was so blessed to have an employer that understood and was so supportive. They were in our corner every step of the way.?

Abby turned 3 in April, and many of Maria?s coworkers ask about her.

?They?re family people,? Maria says of the three partners ? Alex Castro, Hung Lee and Chuck ? and her coworkers. ?They are very excited for me.?

And Maria is very excited about her position at M Corp.

?The people are awesome,? Maria says of her colleagues. ?Everybody rallies around each other.?

Building the camaraderie and the team approach starts with the partners ? and finding good workers.

?They?re always so measured about things ? the company grows cautiously,? she says, adding she has brought a couple of employees to the company, a common recruiting tool at M Corp. ?We find good, quality people. It speaks volumes when somebody says you?re really good.?

And Mallett is ?really good.?

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