Maria D. Toler is the visionary Founding Partner of SteelSky Ventures, a trailblazing venture capital fund with a dedicated focus on women’s healthcare. SteelSky’s pioneering approach pushes beyond conventional boundaries, extending its strategy to embrace technology infrastructure, supporting revolutionary care delivery models across the spectrum of women’s health indications. Under Maria’s strategic stewardship, SteelSky has coalesced a strong portfolio of category-leading companies and forged a rich ecosystem of strategic LPs and advisors, committed to innovating in markets that were once overlooked.

Maria’s entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 19, where she started the first student run business at Wake Forest University. Wakeboxes, now Collegeboxes, was subsequently acquired by U-Haul and remains the leading college shipping and storage company in America. After graduating, Maria joined Booz Allen Hamilton as a systems engineer, where her exceptional leadership and technical expertise were recognized with the National Women of Color in Technology Rising Star Award. This experience laid the foundation for a remarkable 20-year career spanning innovation across marketing, strategy, and technology.

A recognized luminary in a burgeoning investment category, Maria is a sought-after speaker at prestigious forums such as the Milken Institute, the Aspen Institute, and the American Hospital Association. This year she was tapped to work with the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, traveling with the First Lady to roll out the new $100M program. Maria’s accolades include being named a 2022 USA Justice Fellow by Eisenhower Fellowships, receiving the 2023 Atlanta Women of Influence Award, and earning a spot on Forbes’ list of top VCs to watch. Her journey has been showcased on ABC News and The Today Show, and she was honored with the 2020 NYU Stern Alumni Changemaker award. Business Insider has also recognized Maria on its list of Rising Stars in Venture Capital.

Maria’s academic journey is equally impressive, with a B.S. in Information Systems from Wake Forest University, an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Stern School of Business at New York University, and a certificate from the exclusive Venture Capital Unlocked Program at Stanford University. In addition to her professional pursuits, Maria actively contributes to advisory boards, including the Executive Board of the National Patient Advocate Foundation, the Advisory Board of MassChallenge, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Board of Directors and the Investment Committee for the NYU Impact Investment Fund. Maria holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.