Mariana graduated cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2011 where she was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and received a certificate in Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. After being sworn in to the Illinois bar, Mariana served as judicial law clerk the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of County. Drafting judicial orders has provided Mariana a unique perspective into how courts operate and how judges make decisions. 

While in law school, Mariana was president of the Kent Justice Foundation, a public interest law group focused on outreach and fellowships. She was also president of the Student Hurricane Network, making numerous trips to New Orleans to provide volunteer legal services and disaster assistance. As part of the Seventh Circuit Review, Mariana published a journal article on an emerging Fourth Amendment issue. In her final year of law school, Mariana became certified as a mediator and mediated a variety of cases throughout Cook County. She was inducted into the Bar & Gavel Society in recognition of her outstanding service to the school.

In 2006, Mariana received a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She attended high school at Glenbrook South H.S. in Glenview, Illinois.

Mariana likes the Clash, the Auditorium Theatre and the people of her great city. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Hellenic Bar Association.