Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Bianca Maldonado likes to say that the universe leads people where they are meant to be — and her life, in many ways, is testament to that.
For one, if it weren’t for the abrupt closure of the Chicago radio station she worked for, it’s hard to know whether she would have found her life’s passion as a clinical mental health therapist.
Maldonado, nee Ferreri, grew up in Burbank and graduated from Mother McAuley High School in Chicago. After studying at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting in Lombard, at age 19 she became the youngest woman — and one of the first — to work in production for the now-defunct alternative rock radio station WKQX/101.1, known as Q101.
“It was a surreal moment to be hired, because I grew up listening to Q101,” she recalls.
Maldonado worked for Sherman and Tingle’s morning show and was invited to play characters on shock jock Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller’s radio/TV program.
When Q101 was bought out and its entire staff dismissed in 2011, Maldonado had to figure out her next steps. She enrolled at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, where she earned an associate’s degree, and at Tricoci University of Beauty Culture, earning a state cosmetology license.
“I had taken a few psychology courses at Moraine and absolutely fell in love with it,” she says, “so I fully pivoted.”
Maldonado went on to earn a bachelor’s degree with major in psychology and business at Saint Xavier University in Chicago and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Benedictine University in Lisle, with four additional clinical certifications on top of her state licensure.
In private practice for eight years, Maldonado specializes in the treatment of personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD). The diagnosis is subject to much misinformation, says Maldonado, whose articles have been published on the website of Naperville Counseling Center.
“The diagnosis can look scary online if you research it, but I have seen some beautiful things happen with my patients within their career and relationship,” she says.
Although people with BPD can face day-to-day challenges related to emotional expression, such as increased anger, they are also able to understand the complexities of other people’s emotion to a degree that is not often recognized, Maldonado says. “They can really form deep relationships. BPD can be a gift in the sense that if you are a friend or partner (of someone with BPD), they can truly listen and empathize with you on a much deeper level than most, when fully present in conversation.”
Maldonado and her husband, Mathew Maldonado, have three children: Dolly Rose 4, Brooks, 2 and Nina, 10 months. A fourth child who passed away, Angel, would be 3 now.) They live in her native Burbank, across the street from her brother and near her parents.
Maldonado also serves as a trustee for Prairie Trails Public Library in Burbank, where once she’d been the youngest library cardholder at only 6 months old, thanks to her mother, an avid reader who always took her children to the library.
“They even took a picture of me and put it in the local newspaper!” she says of her early fame.
Appointed trustee in July 2025, Maldonado had been asked to conduct an interview with the library board just six days after the birth of her youngest child.
“That’s how I go about my life — if an opportunity presents itself, I am going to be there,” she says. “The library has always been very special to me and it was a great opportunity to give back.”
Another “full circle” moment in Maldonado’s life was being able to teach four psychology courses at Moraine Valley.
As much as she loves her job as a mental health therapist, it’s a field that requires having a healthy balance of dedication to the job and self-care, she says.
“My patients work incredibly hard in therapy, which I am very grateful for, and while medication management and talk therapy are largely productive when combined, BPD can be complex in the sense that each day is not necessarily similar to the next, as finding the grey zone is difficult work,” she explains. “I do my best to decompress at the end of the workday, especially if it was challenging. I read or listen to music and make sure I’m in the right headspace before I interact with my husband or my children.”
Maldonado’s plans for the future include doing advocacy work focused on women’s rights and amplifying women’s voices. “The most important thing is to lift each other up and support each other, regardless of political party,” she says.
She also hopes to publish books centered on positive messaging, both on her own and with the assistance of her mother, whom she called “the most positive human I ever met in my life.”
Her Italian-American culture is central to her identity, having taught her the value of family and hard work, and inspiring her to believe she can achieve any dream, she says.
“I feel very lucky to have the support of my parents, my brother, my husband and my children,” she says. “Even if you don’t have actual relatives, you have to find that closeness with friends. You need to have strong familial attachments to someone, if you want to pursue your goals and achieve your dreams in your life.”
