Maria Cornelius, who joined Moxley Carmichael in 2013, is a longtime communications professional with extensive experience as a writer and editor across various media, including digital, video and print. Moxley Carmichael is one of East Tennessee's premier public and media relations firms, providing comprehensive communications services to local, regional and national companies and organizations.
Maria has been immersed in Tennessee media for more than 30 years, including a 14 year stint at the Knoxville News Sentinel, where she rose through the ranks from reporter to assistant managing editor.
Maria also is an accomplished sportswriter with bylines in local, regional and national media. She wrote the award-winning book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” which chronicles the last season of the legendary Lady Vols basketball coach. The book sold 4,000 copies in the first five days after its release. (https://www.amazon.com/Final-Season-Perseverance-Pat-Summitt/dp/1621902722)
Maria was named the 2020 recipient of the Mel Greenberg Media Award by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The award is presented annually to a member of the media or sports communications professional who has best displayed a commitment to women’s basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women’s game.
Maria is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists; U.S. Basketball Writers Association; Association for Women in Sports Media; and the WBCA.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Memphis in 1987. Originally from North Carolina, Maria now resides in Seymour, Tennessee with her dogs, Gus and Sansa, and assorted cats, including the angelic Patches and a diva named Sophia Maria.
