Meet the Team
Maria
Founder & CEO
About Maria
Background
A long-time Boston resident with a passion for Boston history and exploring the city, Maria has lived in Boston since attending University of Massachusetts Boston over a decade ago. She and her partner Chris (in business and life) live in Dorchester now, but she has lived in more than 20 apartments across most of Boston's neighborhoods. Before starting Boston Hidden Gems, Maria created and grew the first ever data engineering team for the City of Boston, bringing data analytics and automation to Boston's City Hall. She will happily regale you with stories about the inner workings (or lack thereof) of local city government.
Travel
An experienced traveler, Maria has been to all seven continents and got married in Antarctica, and has plenty of stories to share about her life abroad too! She spent a semester abroad in college attending Oxford, and will constantly point out that many Hogwarts scenes for the Harry Potter franchise were filmed there. Her favorite city (besides Boston) is Amsterdam, and she tries to visit every year!
Boston Specialties
Maria is passionate, funny, and full of quirky historical knowledge about Boston. Ask her about any statue or cool building that you see as we pass it, chances are she knows something about it! She loves good food and a nice cold beer, and knows where to find the best lobster roll and chowder in Boston. Having been enthusiastically eating and drinking her way through the area for over a decade, she can recommend a place to try any cuisine that comes to your mind! She loves giving visitors an inside scoop on the hidden gems of the city, food, history, culture, and entertainment.
Hobbies
In her rare spare time Maria can be found playing video games, reading, camping, and traveling. She enjoys discovering new restaurants and hidden areas of Boston, and adding new material to her extensive catalog of knowledge about the city.
Reviews About Maria
Background
Although raised in Vermont, Chris returned to his family roots in Boston in the early 2010s, when he attended Northeastern University. He spent 4 years as a campus tour guide, and never fully stopped talking about how much he enjoyed it. He has worked for several major Boston companies, including TJX, John Hancock, and DraftKings, and has witnessed first-hand the recent growth of Boston’s tech market. He and Maria met working for Boston City Hall, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Travel
Chris has been fortunate enough to visit more than 45 countries, and every continent! His favorite was, of course, Antarctica, where he and Maria were married! He spent summers abroad in college in Sarajevo, Belgrade, and Buenos Aires, and has also completed multiple month-long regional explorations around the world. He dreams of returning to Sarajevo, but always makes sure he visits a new country every year!
Boston Specialties
Chris is, first and foremost, a sports fan. Although his true love is soccer (and if you ask, he will explain the etymology behind “football” vs “soccer”), he keeps an eye on all of Boston’s teams, counting down the days to another championship parade. Aside from sports, his time as a real estate agent gave him an understanding of all the neighborhoods, and his sweet tooth will point you in the right direction for your after-tour treats!
Hobbies
Most often, Chris can be found trying to find a soccer game on TV, even if it’s not a team he cares about. He’s also a news junkie, and can often be found with his nose deep in a 10,000-word article. You’ll also find him playing video or board games, cooking, or cuddling his dog on the couch.
Reviews About Chris
Background
Alexandria enjoys a variety of activities and interests while living in Boston. She loves social dancing, particularly swing and Latin styles, and finds joy in singing with a choir. With a background as a high school foreign language teacher, she values both learning and teaching. In her free time, she hosts board game nights with friends and indulges in her favorite treats: ice cream and gelato.
Travel
Alexandria spent a year in Germany, working with children at a local community center. During her time abroad, she explored several countries, immersing herself in museums, historic landmarks, and sampling the local cuisines. She developed a particular fondness for train travel, appreciating how it allowed her to experience both the busy cities and the scenic countryside while enjoying the journey itself.
Boston Specialties
Alexandria loves exploring the diverse neighborhoods that make Boston so unique. Whether she’s wandering through historic streets, visiting local shops, or uncovering hidden gems in vibrant districts, she’s always on the lookout for something new. Her passion for the arts draws her to Boston's lively arts and music festivals, where creativity is everywhere. As a regular at the Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria never misses a chance to check out new exhibits, fully embracing the rich cultural life the city offers.
Hobbies
Alexandria loves spending her days exploring different coffee shops and biking through Boston’s city center or the nearby forest preserves. On quieter days, she enjoys taking walks with friends or unwinding at home, where she paints with watercolors or strums her ukulele, embracing moments of creativity and relaxation.
Reviews About Alexandria
Background
Jenny has a life of thirds- ⅓ in Southern California, ⅓ in the Pacific Northwest (mostly Vancouver, BC) and the most recent ⅓ right here in Boston. Jenny holds Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Engineering. Most of her time in the past 15 years has been invested in homeschooling her kids and helping them on to their next adventures. When studying the American colonial period and Revolutionary War, they visited local historic sites and museums. Many lessons also took advantage of Boston’s incredible local museums and resources such as workshops run by MIT, Massachusetts Audubon or the Weather Observatory and Science Center in the Blue Hills.
Travel
Jenny loves it almost everywhere and starts to feel at home within days- so she’s always at home and always a bit homesick. She also loves to help others get settled and feel at home. Jenny also loves learning and telling stories and is especially drawn in by unique sites with a story to tell, such as why and how public art came to be placed or Boston’s many historic sites came to be preserved. She looks forward to sharing some of those stories with you!
Boston Specialties
Jenny’s comfort zone extends throughout the many neighborhoods of Boston and beyond- west to the Berkshires, south to Cape Cod and Providence and north to New Hampshire. This is thanks to countless urban and nature walks, field trips and adventures during homeschooling and driving hundreds of donated food deliveries around Boston metro since 2020. Among Jenny’s favorite Boston sites are the Boston Public Garden and Common for their amazing combination of natural beauty, history, and diversity of use as true common spaces for recreation, entertainment, festivals, protests and vigils. Also, she recommends unique Boston experiences such as a trip through the Mapparium (an amazing stained glass globe dating from the 1930’s). She also loves a burying ground - where better to talk about people’s lives?
Hobbies
With her abundant free time, Jenny loves cooking, baking, knitting, reading, listening to music and singing, birdwatching, trying not to kill houseplants, spending time with furry friends and human loved ones, watching shows and movies with her kids (a defensive move so she’ll have any idea what they’re talking about) and walking around lovely and interesting places, mostly outdoors. Also, talking to strangers.
Reviews About Jenny
Background
Mark has been living, studying, working and playing in the Boston area for over 45 years and loves to share his knowledge of the city and its surroundings with friends new and old. He has spent time as an award-winning audiovisual producer for museum exhibitions and public learning spaces; as a creative technologist for public broadcasting and higher education; and as a communication designer for the recording industry. Over the years Mark has completed projects for several iconic Boston institutions including the USS Constitution Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Boston Children’s Museum.
Travel
Mark is happiest when on a road trip near or far, and has traveled extensively in New England as well as much of the United States and Europe. He spent a year abroad studying at University College, London and still dreams about floating through Camden Locks on a houseboat. Every trip is an adventure, but returning home to New England never gets old.
Boston Specialties
On a given day you might find Mark paddling his kayak on one of Boston’s waterways, enjoying live music at one of the city's many entertainment venues, participating in a cultural program at a local museum, or taking in a baseball game at Fenway Park. Boston has so much to offer it can be difficult to choose, but it is this combination of history, recreation, and culture that keeps Mark here.
Hobbies
Mark loves to spend time indoors playing guitar, or reading with a cat in his lap, almost (but not quite) as much as he loves to spend time outdoors hiking, paddling, swimming and cycling with his wife and daughter.
Reviews About Mark
Background
A lifelong resident of Greater Boston, Ryan grew up immersed in the rich history of the area. He attended Wheaton College and earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He has volunteered at the American Heritage Museum for several years, teaching about (and sometimes driving) its collection of antique vehicles. Ryan formerly worked for the Lexington Historical Society, and, in addition to tour guiding, currently works at the Paul Revere House in Boston’s North End, teaching guests about Boston’s Revolutionary history and life in colonial Boston.
Travel
Ryan absolutely loves to travel, and has been fortunate enough to visit a range of different destinations near and far. He has been all over the United States and Canada, and has visited a number of countries in Europe. Most recently, he made two trips to Japan as well as his first trip to Scotland, in both places spending most of his time exploring and seeking out any history he could find, no matter how minute. Ryan hopes to return to Japan for a longer stay, as well as travel further throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Boston Specialties
While Ryan loves the city of Boston, his true specialty lies in his intimate knowledge of Lexington and Concord. Growing up right between the two in Bedford, he has spent a countless number of hours exploring the surrounding towns, particularly the sites associated with the start of the American Revolution. He has a great knowledge of the landscape and can talk at length about even the most obscure nooks and crannies.
Hobbies
In his spare time, Ryan enjoys running, writing stories, building models, and playing video games and tabletop games with friends. He loves exploring new places and adding to his knowledge of local history. He is a member of the Bedford Minuteman Company, and participates in parades and reenactments in colonial costume.
Reviews About Ryan
Background
Riley moved to Boston for her college education and loved the city so much that she decided to plant her roots here. Riley’s passions for filmmaking, live music, and comedy thrive in Boston. She is an experienced filmmaker, with her studies in undergrad. As well, she has a deep love for making people laugh through her comedy work as a stand-up comic, clown, and her roles producing comedy events in Boston.
Travel
Riley loves how connected Boston is to the Northeast. She is often making road trips up north to ski in Vermont, explore Maine, and visits to her family back in Philadelphia. She studied abroad in London and has traveled many times to Ireland, Scotland, and all around Europe. Her favorite visit abroad is her visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Boston Specialties
Riley is a huge foodie and she loves Boston for its variety of restaurants. She has compiled a list of her favorite places for a lobster roll - make sure to ask her for food recommendations! Riley also loves a night out in the city and always has a great eye for evening activities in Boston.
Hobbies
Riley loves to spend her time crafting binging a good TV show. She often spends time out with a picnic blanket in the Boston Common while she reads and takes in the views. She also loves to play D&D with her friends across the world.
Reviews About Riley
Background
Our first company car, Firefly has been a reliably smooth ride ever since we bought her! A 2021 Toyota Sienna hybrid, she’ll seat up to 6 passengers plus a driver, and still put out 36 MPG, keeping our environmental impact down. With plenty of cupholders and chargers, she’ll make sure everyone inside in comfortable and safe.
Travel
Firefly is a bit of a homebody, and doesn’t particularly care about traveling far away. She’s been to every state in New England, but is pretty happy to be done with new places at that.
Boston Specialties
She knows all the hidden parking places, and comes with a pass that gives her special access to a roof deck with a sweet view!
Hobbies
Firefly is a pretty chill car, and when she’s not busy carrying around loads of visitors, she’s mostly excitedly waiting for the next tour!
Chris
COO
About Chris
Alexandria
Lead Guide
About Alexandria
Jenny
Guide
About Jenny
Mark
Guide
About Mark
Ryan
Guide
About Ryan
Riley
Guide
About Riley
Vehicles
Firefly
Tour Vehicle
About Firefly