Why I Give: Maria Bradley
Creating a New Imaginarium for Business Majors
Next academic year, the doors to the Maria D. Bradley ‘73 Business and Innovation Hub will open. This exciting new space for business majors in University Hall is thanks to the vision and generosity of alumna Maria Bradley ’73.
"I think of it as an imaginarium. I love the idea of students having a place and an opportunity to explore out-of-the-box thinking,” Maria said. “For example, I'm a big proponent of AI. I know some people put it down, but it's here."
Sometimes with these [new tools], all the wrong people pick them up and use them for the wrong things. Well, guess what? That's why you have to educate more of the right type of people, good people, to use them productively and correctly.
The HUB will be a dynamic, modular, tech-enabled space that can serve as a mindset incubator, a collaborative playground, and creative lab. The HUB will expand GMercyU’s emphasis on applied learning by intentionally creating an environment that connects students with community partners to drive local innovation, and create opportunities to co-create solutions.
Maria also created one of the first endowed director positions at GMercyU, the Maria D. Bradley ’73 Endowed Director of the HUB, who oversee the HUB’s programming, partnerships with local employers, and interdisciplinary projects. But if students are looking for inspiration while in the new space, they can take it from Maria’s own storied career path.
Becoming a Business Leader
Maria earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at GMercyU, and taught math for various parochial schools in the area after graduating. Later, as a single parent who needed benefits, she was hired by an actuarial firm in Philadelphia, called Miller, Mason & Dickerson.
“This was in the ‘70s. They said they were taking a big chance hiring a woman in the actuarial department,” said Maria, who later moved to Chicago with her three young children for the job, away from her family.
Maria stayed with the company for 25 years, during which she introduced it to the new digital age. “When I started, they told me I'd never have to work on a computer. A year later, a colleague and I asked if we could buy a computer, which back then was just a black box, pre-Microsoft.” This company was eventually bought by another company, called Aon and this is when she moved with her three children to Chicago.
In 2000, Maria seized an opportunity to start her own company, despite working in a still very male-dominated industry. By then she was leading Aon’s benefits administration practice as a senior vice president.
"We were working on three different platforms, doing triple the work. At that time, the internet was coming along and I thought, we need to invest in it,” she said, but Aon wasn’t interested.
So, Maria connected with a client who became an angel investor.
“I already had a plan of what I wanted to do,” she explained. “So, I went ahead with it and didn't think twice.”
Maria launched her own online benefits administration company, Benefit Express, with just two employees, including Maria. At first, she served as its primary salesperson but brought on more employees who complemented each other’s skills. Benefit Express grew into a leading provider in the HR tech space, providing cloud-based benefits administration solutions.
“I think a lot of companies realized that they couldn't do that type of work unless they really made an investment, and it wasn't something they wanted to invest in or they had a system that was just not working for them. That worked well for me," Maria said. AON also introduced Benefit Express to many of their clients which remain clients to this day, even after Maria sold Benefit Express in 2021 to WEX, Inc.
The Keys to her Success
Maria feels her math and teaching experience supported her success in business.
“I'm really, really good at laying things out and delegating. I used to tell junior staffers, ‘You’ve got to be lazy. You have to want to not want to do it again. You have to set it up so somebody else can do it next time,’” said Maria.
“My philosophy was being prepared and teaching others so that you can take on more work.”
She also credits her parents with inspiring her. Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, Maria and her siblings were the only women on their street to attend college at the time. “My mom was absolutely driven that women were going to go to college. It wasn't that common then,” she said.
Maria’s older sister attended Gwynedd-Mercy College, which drew Maria to the school; she also was attracted to its smaller size. Having attended Little Flower Catholic High School, then a much bigger high school, Maria knew she wanted a more close-knit environment for college. Years later, her younger sister transferred to Gwynedd from a larger school for the same reason.
Bringing things full circle, Maria created the Maria Bradley Scholarship at GMercyU to support outstanding graduates of Little Flower Catholic High School.
As for being lifelong learner, that comes from Maria’s father. “After the war, he got a job at the Philadelphia Gas Works as a meter reader. He hadn’t graduated from high school but eventually got his GED and kept taking correspondence courses. He ended up the head of the computer department at the gas company,” she said.
Her GMercyU Influence
What Maria appreciated most about GMercyU is familiar to all alumni and students, that a small school allows for personal relationships with your professors.
“You could talk to them. If you had a problem or a question, it was easy to access them. That's just so important in a school,” she said.
“I was also impressed with how knowledgeable they were,” said Maria. “I loved Mrs. Tannenbaum; she was so very easy to talk to and work with. She was in the education department. Also, Sister de Mercedes Breen…I just moved into a new home and came across a Bible she gave me with a lovely note in the front of it. She was such a sweet person.”
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