MFR Consultants & Firstrust Bank
Maria Frizelle Roberts launched MFR Consultants, a Philadelphia-based “public sector” consulting firm, with a simple but powerful mission.
To fix systems that weren’t working and create lasting change.
With tenacity and vision, she applied strategies — like process optimization, data-driven insights, and innovative technology solutions — to deliver results. By combining mission with method, her firm grew into a trusted partner for clients, driving both operational efficiency and long-term impact.
“I began my career in healthcare and quickly noticed that many processes produced the same poor outcomes,” Roberts said. “When I asked why, the answer was always, ‘This is how it’s always been done.’ I refused to accept that. I believed there had to be a smarter, more effective way. And that belief became the foundation for my work.”
That question — the why — has guided Roberts for more than three decades as she’s built MFR Consultants, which blends business strategy and technology to improve how government, healthcare, education, and utility organizations serve their communities. From a one-woman startup in 1989, MFR has grown into a national firm with nearly 30 employees and a client list that stretches across the country.
As October marks National Women’s Small Business Month, Roberts reflected on her journey — from the front lines of healthcare to leading a nationally recognized consulting firm — and the barriers she’s had to break through along the way.
“When I launched my business, I signed everything as ‘M. Frizelle Roberts’ because too often, a woman’s name wasn’t taken seriously,” she recalled. “I can’t count how many times I walked into a meeting only to be asked, ‘Where’s Mr. Roberts?’”
That bias hasn’t fully disappeared. Even today, she notes, there are moments when people address questions to a male colleague first, overlooking the fact that she is the President and CEO.
But Roberts has never let those perceptions define her or slow her down. Instead, they’ve strengthened her resolve to create meaningful change.
“The challenges only fueled my determination,” she said. “I love what I do, and I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything.”
Born in Chicago, Roberts grew up with parents who encouraged curiosity and opened doors to a global perspective at an early age. That exposure sparked a lifelong commitment to transformation — one that now drives her work at MFR Consultants, where she partners with organizations to solve complex challenges and create lasting change.
Roberts began her undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania before earning a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University and later a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.
Her early career was rooted in nursing, serving in large urban hospitals in intensive care and emergency units. But a transition to working in Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods revealed a deeper truth: health outcomes were shaped as much by poverty and social conditions as by clinical care.
“Once I saw the impact of poverty and social conditions on health, I knew I couldn’t just treat patients after the damage was done,” Roberts said. “I needed to do something upstream.”
She came to understand that these challenges weren’t simply medical problems; they were systems problems. Solving them required a strategic approach that paired compassion with operational change. Yet, while working in public health administration, Roberts discovered that innovation was limited and creativity constrained by rigid institutional structures.
That realization became the catalyst for action. In 1989, she founded MFR Consultants with a clear strategy: apply business discipline and data-driven insights to complex public-sector challenges. From the start, the firm focused on process optimization to eliminate inefficiencies, fiscal stewardship to maximize resources, and technology integration to modernize operations.
By blending these strategies, Roberts positioned MFR to deliver measurable impact. Now, the firm is trusted by public sector enterprises (including federal, state, and local governments) and healthcare, human services, education, and utility organizations to reimagine how they operate and to achieve lasting change.
“There was no trust fund or playbook to start a business with, but I was young enough to take a risk,” Roberts said. “So, I did.”
Roberts’s family also played a key role in MFR’s success. In the early 2000s, her sister, Sandra C. Roberts, an executive at a global consulting firm, joined MFR and helped scale the business for nearly 20 years before launching her own tech company last year.
Throughout MFR’s growth, one relationship has remained constant: Firstrust Bank. Roberts first connected with Firstrust more than 20 years ago, when she was searching for a banking partner that would be more responsive than the large institutions she had worked with.
“At first, I was just a depositor; I wasn’t bringing millions of dollars to the table,” Roberts said. “But Firstrust treated me like I mattered. (VP, Small Business Lender) Patty DiStasio checked in regularly and was genuinely interested in my business, long before we had the scale we have today.”
That partnership became critical during pivotal moments, including the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While larger institutions stalled, Firstrust quickly processed MFR’s Paycheck Protection Program application within three days, ensuring payroll and stability for the firm’s employees.
“Our bank is a different kind of bank,” said DiStasio. “We’re people first.”
“What we’re trying to deliver is that personalized service,” said Sharon Hammel, Firstrust’s EVP, Managing Director of Community Banking. “When you make human connections, you’re really delivering on a whole different level. And that builds loyalty, it builds trust, and it builds our ability to understand what the needs are and really look for solutions that make sense.”
Beth Packel, Firstrust’s SVP, Small Business Team Lead, said that Firstrust does not consider itself “a transactional type of bank.”
“We want to know all about your business,” she said. “We take the time to ask the questions to really peel back the onion and understand the business.”
Today, Firstrust provides MFR with lines of credit, payroll services, and day-to-day banking support. But more importantly, Roberts sees Firstrust as a true partner in growth.
“MFR now has a strong leadership and management team driving our success, but having a banking partner that understands our vision and stands with us at every stage has made all the difference,” Roberts said. “Firstrust has been with us through every chapter of growth — guiding us, supporting us, and believing in us.”