Mariah is a lesbian former basketball player. She was raised Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, then moved to Arizona with her family when she was 16. She graduated from Arcadia High School in Phoenix, received a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University in 1978, and received a masters in public health from San Jose State University in 1983.

Nelson played professional basketball in the first U.S. women's pro league, and in a European professional league. At Stanford ('78) she was the captain and leading scorer of the team all four years, averaging 19 points. One rebounding record remains unbroken. She has been inducted into the National Women's Sports Hall of Fame, and also received a masters in public health. Sill an athlete, Nelson now swims about two miles each morning, lifts weights, plays golf, and coaches her mother, Sarah Burton Nelson, who holds three Arizona State breaststroke record for women aged 75-79.

A keynote speaker, Mariah Burton Nelson uses inspiring sports stories, cutting-edge business research, and lots of humor to give people the motivation and tools they need to lead and succeed with courage, compassion, commitment, and confidence. She teaches step-by-step strategies for achieving personal and professional goals, whatever they may be.

Nelson has written 4 books, was a weekly columnist for the Washington Post and editor of Women's Sports and Fitness, and currently writes for numerous magazines and newspapers including Newsweek, the New York Times, USA TODAY. Ms., Glamour, Shape, and many websites, including ivillage and Oxygen. She wrote the first nationally distributed women's sports column, for Knight-Ridder/Tribune, distributed to 320 newspapers. She is also the author of several videos on gender and sports.

Mariah is President of the National Speakers Association/Washington, D.C. Area, and has been speaking professionally since 1987. She has won five national awards for her writing and speaking, and appears as a guest on such shows as Today, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Dateline, Crossfire, PrimeTime Live, and hundreds of others. Mariah lives in the Washington, D.C. area, with her life partner and their dog, Rocky.