Maria Lilley: Balancing family, real estate, and civic leadership in Downey

Photo by Alex Dominguez

DOWNEY — She may not realize it herself, but Maria Lilley is quite the helper; she was just named the Greater Downey Association of Realtors Volunteer of the Year, after all.

“I try to be of service wherever I can,” said Lilley.

Lilley, a realtor with Century 21 Peak, came to Downey with her now husband around 1990, and raised two kids. She has been a member with the Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis Club for around 13 years, and can often be found helping out in the background, especially at the club’s golf tournament and other philanthropic events.

“I’ve been secretary for several years helping the club in the background. I’ve helped with the golf tournament for as long as I’ve done Kiwanis,” said Lilley. “I don’t know where I’ve not been, honestly. Thinking about it, I’ve always done Breakfast with Santa and I’m always at the shopping spree.”

It hasn’t always been that way though.

In fact, Lilley says she was only first inspired to start volunteering for the benefit of her daughter.

“My daughter was getting out of junior high school into high school, and I wanted her to learn to be of service,” said Lilley. “I wanted to show her that it felt good to be of service, and that you’re helping people, and you’re able to connect with people. Just to see the result, it’s so satisfying.

“There’s other people that you would think, ‘Gosh, you’re so selfish; you could be helping just five minutes of your time; instead you’d rather be doing nothing.’ [Helping] brings me more happiness than it does anything.”

Before that, though, Lilley claims to have been rather shy. That started to change when she opened her first business, a bridal dress shop in Bell Gardens.

“Clients would come in with their kids and we’d make dresses for them,” said Lilley. “Some of them were really shy, so you kind of have to get people out of their shell to tell them about themselves so that you could make them a better dress, or more fitting; so, you see what they like, and they don’t like.

“I think that’s when I started to realize, you know, I can help you. I can help you get the dress that you deserve, that you don’t know that you deserve, because you’re such a great kid. I think that started that, because you start seeing people come back to you.”

The problem with owning a bridal dress company, however, is it tends to take you away from your family.

“I was never home. I mean, I’d go to work, and when it’s your business, it’s even worse,” said Lilley. “I would sleep at the bridal shop. There were times where I wouldn’t see the kids, and the sitter would bring them to my store and I’d spend time.

“That’s when I was like, ‘Okay, this is just too much.’ And I wanted to see my daughter go to high school. My son was always doing sports, so you know those boys are always gone.”

At the advice of her sister, she pursued real estate.

Now, uses her desire to help others in a different arena, all while trying to change the reputation of the industry itself.

“I was just on the professional standards committee at CAR (California Association of Realtors). That’s for the state level,” said Lilley. “One of the things that I oversee is professional standards, which is ethics; always making sure that realtors have a good reputation, because we are known for many other things. Giving is not one of them, so I wanted to change that.

“When you hear about realtors, normally its not as positive as I’d like to see.”

She will continue to stay busy in the coming years as the Board of Realtors president elect in 2025, and subsequently as its president in 2026.

“It’s a different type of volunteerism because we don’t get paid for that. There’s a lot of things that are going on in the industry that we want to be on top of to make sure that were doing it the right way,” said Lilley.

Above all, she continues to spread her message of helping others.

“Hopefully in the future I continue to give, to be of service, teach others to be of service; lead by example in that way,” said Lilley. “You don’t even realize you’re doing it. Next thing you know, you’re signed up for another item, next thing you know something else comes up and you’re trying to be helpful.

“I think it’s for the betterment of the community, you know? You’re helping other people; it’s not just about you, it’s more about them.”