Ms. Otero has published extensively on sustainable microfinance, including as co-editor of The New World of Microfinance, published by Kumarian Press. Ms. Otero chairs the board of ACCION Investments, a $20 million U.S. investment company for microfinance, and co-chairs the Microenterprise Coalition. She also serves on the boards of directors of three regulated microfinance institutions in Latin America: Mibanco in Peru, BancoSol in Bolivia and Compartamos in Mexico.

Since 1997, Ms. Otero has been an adjunct professor at the John Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Maria Otero has an M.A. in Literature from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in International/Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS.