Maura Peeler

The quality and progression of Maura Peeler's hospitality industry career path has, in the spirited theme of True North, "pointed straight up" ever since she graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in hospitality sales and meeting management.

Following two years in restaurant management, she worked her way through six years of sales and operations management positions for an all-suite brand in various locations around the U.S. In 1999, she joined True North Hotel Group and was named General Manager in 2000 for the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Overland Park, Kansas.

When True North co-developed a unique SpringHill Suites by Marriott project attached to a 20,000 square-foot independent conference center in Devens, Massachusetts, Maura was the company's clear choice for General Manager. Her comprehensive background came full-circle as she established food and beverage standards for Devens Common Center while expertly handling all GM duties for the 121-room SpringHill Suites. Her exceptional leadership was recognized by Marriott International when she was awarded 2005 Opening GM of the Year for the SpringHill Suites brand.

One of Maura's first initiatives in Devens was to make sustainability a property standard. She made an immediate connection with an organization called EcoStar, which promotes sustainable development among local businesses, and made her hotel the first to participate in single-stream recycling. She received Marriott's most prestigious General Manager of the Year Award among all SpringHill Suites GMs in 2008; was named Area General Manager for the Massachusetts Region for True North in 2009; was saluted as a "40 Under 40" in 2009 by the Worcester Business Journal; is a member of EcoStar Devens; was a Community Service Leadership Award nominee for Nashoba Valley in 2010; and currently serves on the SpringHill Suites GM Advisory Council for Marriott International.