Maria Salas received her B.S. from Middle Tennessee State University summa cum laude in 1985, and her J.D. from the Nashville School of Law in 1992. She was apppointed Clerk and Master of the Davidson County Chancery Court, effective December 1, 2015. She is a member of the American, Tennessee, and Nashville Bar Associations and the Tennessee and Nashville Lawyers' Associations for Women. She is a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Nashville Bar Foundation, and is an alumnus of the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law program. She previously received the Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award. She is a member of the board of trustees of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and is a founding member and current board member of the Stonewall Bar Association of Tennessee, an organization supporting LGBT legal professionals and promoting diversity in the legal profession.