Maria Anna Hecher obtained her PhD degree at the University of Graz, Austria and the Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Germany. In her research she investigates energy transitions from a socio-technical perspective with a special focus on individual adoption decisions in the building sector to derive strategies and policy recommendations fostering sustainable energy transitions. Therefore, she pursues an interdisciplinary approach combining environmental and social science methods. 
After her PhD, she had the chance to put her knowledge into practice and managed a three-year program on regional sustainabiltiy projects in an energy region in Styria, Austria. In cooperation with local decision-makers, public authorities, schools, companies and the local population, she realized projects in the field of renewable energy and sustainable mobility. She worked as a consultant in an energy agency for and in the city of Graz, Austria. She managed projects in the field of e-mobility and spatial energy planning collaborating with public authorities, energy suppliers, city planners and research institutions. 
Her work in recent years, has been performed mostly in an inter- and transdisciplinary setting integrating knowledge from different scientific disciplines and fields of practice at the interface between research, politics and society.