Maya Ajmera

Maya Ajmera is currently a Visiting Scholar and Professorial Lecturer at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. She is also the inaugural Social Entrepreneur in Residence and Visiting Professor of the Practice of Public Policy at Duke University. She is working on two books—a memoir and a public affairs book on the global plight of children and youth—as well as teaching a course entitled “Investing in Future Generations.” In 1993, Maya founded The Global Fund for Children (GFC), a non-profit 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 seedling vision into one of the largest networks of grassroots organizations working on behalf of vulnerable children. To date, GFC has awarded more than $25 million to over 500 grassroots organizations in 78 countries, touching the lives of over 7 million children. Maya is also an award-winning children’s book author of over 15 titles, including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe, Faith, and To Be a Kid, with over 3 million readers worldwide. Maya serves on the board of visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Her work and life story have been profiled by such media outlets as CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Financial Times, NPR, and many others. She is Vice-Chair of the board of Echoing Green, a trustee of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and a board member of The Global Fund for Children, New Global Citizens, and Kids in Need of Defense. She serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University, Washington Area Women’s Foundation, American India Foundation, The Golden Baobab Prize, and many others. Maya is also an adviser to Mytonomy, an online video Q&A service for college and career planning. In 2008, she served as a member of the Innovation and Civil Society subgroup of the Obama presidential transition’s Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Policy Working Group. 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, David H. Hollander Jr., a partner at Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg. She is a member of the 2011 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.