Maya Ajmera is the President and CEO of Society for Science & the Public (SSP) and Publisher of its award-winning magazine, Science News, and family of media properties.
In 2013-2014, Maya served as the inaugural Social Entrepreneur in Residence for Duke University and Visiting Professor for the Practice of Public Policy at The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. From 2011-2014, Maya was a Visiting Scholar and Professorial Lecturer at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at The Johns Hopkins University.
In 1993, Maya founded The Global Fund for Children (GFC), a nonprofit organization that invests in innovative, community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth. Under Maya’s 18 years of leadership, GFC grew from a vision into one of the largest networks of grassroots organizations working on behalf of vulnerable children. To date, GFC has awarded more than $38 million to more than 600 grassroots organizations in 80 countries, touching the lives of nearly 10 million children.
Maya is also an award-winning children’s book author of nearly 20 titles, including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, Faith, and To Be a Kid, with more than 3 million readers worldwide.
Maya is a recipient of numerous leadership awards, including the 2011 Henry Crown Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, the Echoing Green Fellowship, the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, and the Rotary International Graduate Fellowship. She is sought out nationally and internationally to address audiences on local and global philanthropy, global children’s rights, international development, and social entrepreneurship. Her work and life story have been profiled by such media outlets as CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Financial Times, NPR, and many others.
Maya serves on the board of visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She is co-chair of the board of Echoing Green, a trustee of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and a board member of New Global Citizens and Kids in Need of Defense.
Maya holds an AB from Bryn Mawr College and a MPP from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter.