Maria Lavithi Howard, Founder and CEO of HeroesMade, boasts a dynamic professional background, combining over ten years of business development expertise in the corporate United States with a profound commitment to nurturing the startup ecosystem in Cyprus. Throughout her journey in establishing HeroesMade, Maria has dedicated years mentoring emerging startups, often creating opportunities for others to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. Driven by the vision of democratizing Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Maria founded HeroesMade, focusing on making SEL widely accessible and streamlining the learning experience. She aims to ensure every child has equal access to a personalized SEL toolkit, fostering well-being and success from a young age. Under her guidance, HeroesMade has evolved into the most direct, innovative solution for SEL in elementary schools, offering a fun, preparation-free, and thoroughly engaging platform. This platform is designed to facilitate the seamless integration of SEL into daily school routines. Maria's mission with HeroesMade is distinctly focused on addressing critical issues such as bullying, depression, and anxiety through the effective implementation of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). She aims to restore emotional equilibrium in educational settings and, by extension, within the broader community. By doing so, Maria endeavors to create nurturing educational environments where children can flourish, free from the constraints of emotional and social barriers.