Dr. Maria Gillespie
Meet Dr. Maria Gillespie, Founder of MaskTogetherColorado
Dr. Maria Gillespie is a professor of mathematics at Colorado State University. She graduated from MIT with a major in mathematics and minor in physics in 2010, and earned her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 2016. In her classroom, she sees firsthand the way COVID infections can affect her students' energy levels and brainpower for solving challenging math problems. She strongly believes that we need to be working together to fight for a safer world for everyone.
The author of “Shine!”, Dr. Gillespie hopes to communicate the joy of protecting oneself and one’s community, as well as helping ensure access to clean air, vaccines, and other tools for all Coloradans to use. Shine! is a book for young kids on how to shine and reach your dreams using masks as a tool to stay healthy.
A mother of high risk children, Dr. Gillespie founded MaskTogetherColorado to help advocate for the rights of all Coloradans to protect their health. She combines her passion for keeping children safe with her passion for teaching mathematics, and runs NoCo Math Buddies, a local COVID cautious math circle for kids in the northern Colorado region.
Dr. Gillespie is also a lifelong asthmatic and a long-distance runner, and regularly runs crowded races in N95 masks. She believes that it is possible to live life to the fullest while wearing a mask - which is key to living a healthy and happy life unburdened by COVID infections and other viral illnesses. Since she started masking regularly, she hasn't been sick in years, and her asthma is hardly ever a problem! She hopes to spread the word and match people with masks that are comfortable and effective for them in a variety of different situations.
