Maya Ajmera

Last updated

Maya Ajmera is the President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News . [1]

Contents

Ajmera is the founder of Global Fund for Children, a nonprofit organization that invests philanthropic capital in innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world's most vulnerable children and youth. [2] [3]

She is the author of the 2016 book Invisible Children: Reimagining International Development at the Grassroots with Gregory A. Fields, published by Palgrave Macmillan. [4] Ajmera is also the author of over twenty children's books, including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey Around the World, Extraordinary Girls, To Be an Artist,Faith, and Healthy Kids. [5] [6]

Biography

Early life and education

Raised in eastern North Carolina by Indian immigrants, Ajmera graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham. [7] She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Bryn Mawr College and a master's degree in public policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. [2] [8]

Career

Ajmera founded The Global Fund for Children in 1994 at the age of 25. The inspiration came from a trip she took to India on a Rotary Fellowship a few years earlier. While waiting for a train she saw a group of children being taught by a teacher on a train platform. Ajmera learned that these children were students in a Train Platform School for impoverished children who could not attend school. Moved by what she saw, instead of attending medical school Ajmera started classes at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy; with facilities provided by Duke and professor William Ascher she applied for and won a seed grant from Echoing Green. [8] This initial funding helped her build an organization to support innovative grassroots efforts on behalf of vulnerable children around the world. [9]

During her tenure years with the organization, the Global Fund for Children gave nearly $25 million in capital to nearly 500 grassroots organizations in 75 countries. These grants have served more than seven million children around the world. [10] Ajmera left her position as president in 2011, after eighteen years, and remained on GFC's board of directors until 2013. [11]

Since 2011, Ajmera is a professorial lecturer at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and served as a visiting scholar from 2011 to 2013. [10]

For the 2013–2014 school year, Ajmera served as the inaugural Social Entrepreneur in Residence for Duke University and a visiting professor of the Practice of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. [8]

As of August 2014, Ajmera is the President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News . [1] The Society is known for its world-class science competitions, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC). [12] She was a member of the Honors Group of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, now sponsored by Regeneron. [13]

Maya serves on the boards of directors of Kids in Need of Defense, [14] Echoing Green, [15] North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Foundation, and Sibley Memorial Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Ajmera is a trustee for the North Carolina School of Science and Math and is on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. [16] She also serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Center for Advanced Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University, and the American India Foundation. [17] Maya served previously on the Advisory Board of the Golden Baobob Prize. [18]

She was a trustee for the Blue Moon Fund and served on the Washington Area Women's Foundation board for nine years before becoming part of that organization's Leadership Council. [19]

Personal

Maya Ajmera is married to David Hollander Jr., and they have one daughter. [20] She is of Rajasthani descent on her father's side and of Bihari descent on her mother's side.

Honors and awards

Ajmera was the recipient of a Rotary International Graduate Fellowship to study in South Asia in 1989–1990. [21] She was also the recipient of the 1993-1997 Echoing Green Public Service Graduate Fellowship and the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations of North Carolina. [22]

In October 2007, Maya Ajmera was featured on CNN's Heroes segment. Actress Mira Sorvino named Ajmera as her hero. [23]

In June 2008, Maya Ajmera received the Women of Distinction award at the 2008 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders at Georgetown University. The award is given to women who have made amazing accomplishments in their professions and who serve as inspiring role models for female students. [24]

She served on the Innovation and Civil Society subgroup of the Obama Presidential Transition's Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group. [9]

Ajmera was a member of the 2011 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. [10]

In May 2014, she received the Rotary International's Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award, presented at the Rotary Global Convention in Sydney, Australia. [21]

In 2020, Maya was honored with the National Science Board's Public Service Award for her significant efforts to enhance public awareness and understanding of science and engineering. She is also a distinguished member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In May 2021, Ajmera received an honorary degree from Cedar Crest College, where she also delivered the keynote address. [25]

Published works

Published children's works

Many of Maya's books have forewords written by prominent individuals, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Melinda French Gates, Julianne Moore, Bill Bradley, Marian Wright Edelman, John Hope Franklin, and even Kermit the Frog. [26]

Interviews and speeches

Interview with the Clinton Global Initiative, 2007 [27]

Interview with Think Change India, 2008 [28]

Appearance on NPR's Tell Me More, 2008 [29]

Interview with The Financial Times , 2008 [30]

Appearance on Dallas NPR Station KERA, 2009 [31]

TEDxAshokaU: Universities Driving Global Change at Duke University, February 25, 2011 [32]

TEDxSMU, 2011 [33]

William D. Reimert Lecture, Cedar Crest College, 2011. [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melinda French Gates</span> American philanthropist (born 1964)

Melinda French Gates is an American philanthropist and a former multimedia product developer and manager at Microsoft. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she graduated from Duke University and started working at Microsoft in 1987. Shortly afterwards, she began dating the company's co-founder and then-CEO Bill Gates, whom she married in 1994. In 2000, she and Gates co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization. The couple, who have three children together, divorced in 2021. In 2024, she resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue philanthropy independently, having received $12.5 billion for charitable work as part of her separation agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke University</span> Private university in Durham, North Carolina, U.S.

Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke established the Duke Endowment and the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father, Washington Duke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Sanford</span> 65th governor of North Carolina

James Terry Sanford was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. presidential candidate in the 1970s, and served as a U.S. senator from 1986 to 1993. He was a strong proponent of public education and introduced several reforms and new programs in North Carolina's schools and institutions of higher education as the state's governor. From 1970 to 1985, Sanford served as the president of Duke University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics</span> Public boarding school in Durham, North Carolina, United States

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school with two physical campuses located in Durham, North Carolina, and Morganton, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of science, mathematics and technology. It accepts rising juniors from across North Carolina and enrolls them through senior year. Although NCSSM is a public school, enrollment is extremely selective, and applicants undergo a competitive review process for admission. NCSSM is a founding member of the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) and a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Woodruff</span> American broadcast journalist (born 1946)

Judy Carline Woodruff is an American broadcast journalist who has worked in local, network, cable, and public television news since 1970. She was the anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour through the end of 2022. Woodruff has covered every presidential election and convention since 1976. She has interviewed several heads of state and moderated U.S. presidential debates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Science and Engineering Fair</span> Annual science fair in the U.S.

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more than 1800 students from roughly 75 countries and territories compete in the fair for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prizes, including one $75,000 and two $50,000 college scholarships. All prizes together amount to over $8,000,000. Two major awards ceremonies are the Special Awards Organization Presentation and the Grand Awards Ceremony. The International Science and Engineering Fair was founded in 1950 by Science Service and was sponsored by Intel from 1997 to 2019. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals became the title sponsor for ISEF in 2020, but the event was cancelled that year and replaced with an online version due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 ISEF was a fully virtual event while 2022 was held online and in-person in Atlanta, GA, and 2023 was in person in Dallas, TX. The 2024 ISEF was held in person in Los Angeles, CA. The 2025 ISEF will be held in Columbus, OH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kavita Ramdas</span> Indian/American activist

Kavita Nandini Ramdas is an American feminist and activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala</span> Nigerian economist (born 1954)

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. She is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization as Director-General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Bush (born 1981)</span> Daughter of George W. Bush

Barbara Pierce Bush is an American activist. She co-founded and is the chair of the board of the nonprofit organization Global Health Corps. She and her fraternal twin sister, Jenna, are the daughters of the 43rd U.S. president, George W. Bush, and former first lady, Laura Bush. She is also a granddaughter of former president George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, after whom she is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Rubenstein</span> American lawyer and businessman (born 1949)

David Mark Rubenstein is an American lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist. A former government official, he is a co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. Rubenstein is also the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB), acquiring the team in 2024 for $1.7 billion.

Thomas Warren Ross Sr. is an American public official who served as the president of the University of North Carolina system from 2011 to 2016. He succeeded Erskine Bowles on January 1, 2011. Formerly, he was president of Davidson College, a private North Carolina liberal arts college from August 1, 2007, to January 1, 2011, and received membership in Omicron Delta Kappa while there in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya Soetoro-Ng</span> Indonesian-American academic

Maya Kasandra Soetoro-Ng is an Indonesian-born American academic, who is a faculty specialist at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is also a consultant for the Obama Foundation, working to develop the Asia-Pacific Leaders Program. Formerly a high school history teacher, Soetoro-Ng is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siddharth Kara</span> Indian author

Siddharth Kara is an Indian author. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a British Academy Global Professor, and an associate professor at the University of Nottingham. He is best known for his book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives (2023). He has also published a trilogy on modern slavery: Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009), Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia (2012), and Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanford School of Public Policy</span> Public policy school of Duke University

The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, who established the university's Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs in 1971 as an interdisciplinary program geared toward training future leaders. When the School's current building on Duke's West Campus opened in 1994, the structure was named—and the Institute renamed—in honor of Sanford. The building was designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, Inc. in a Modern Gothic style. The Sanford School offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in Public Policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society School</span>

The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society School, also popularly known by its old name, J. J. Ajmera High School, is a private, co-educational, K-12, school of Kolkata. The school is located in the Bhawanipur area of Kolkata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Dewan</span> American nuclear engineer

Leslie Dewan is an American nuclear engineer. She was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Transatomic Power. Dewan was a member of the board of MIT and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth A. Dodge</span> American academic

Kenneth Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding and past director of the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy and founder of Family Connects International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shree Bose</span> American scientist; grand prize winner at the 2011 Google Science Fair

Shree Bose is an American scientist, inventor, and speaker. She is known as the grand prize winner of the inaugural Google Science Fair in 2011. She is currently a member of the Physician Scientist Development Program (PSDP) program at the University of Chicago Medical Center, having graduated with an MD–PhD from Duke University School of Medicine in 2023. For high school, she went to Fort Worth Country Day School and graduated in May, 2012. She studied at Harvard College until May 2016. In 2014, she cofounded Piper, a STEM education company creating engineering kits for children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimple Ajmera</span> American politician

Dimple Tansen Ajmera is an American politician and accountant who has served on the Charlotte City Council since 2017. Ajmera is the first Asian-American and youngest woman to ever hold this position. In 2021, she became the second sitting Charlotte City Council member to give birth since the arrival of her daughter in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Ajmera was a candidate for North Carolina State Treasurer in the 2020 primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Rose Sanford</span> First Lady of North Carolina

Margaret Rose Sanford was an American civic leader, teacher, and philanthropist who, as the wife of Terry Sanford, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965. Prior to entering public life, she worked as a teacher in North Carolina and Kentucky. As first lady, Sanford hosted the first annual North Carolina Symphony Ball in 1961, established a library of North Carolinian books at the North Carolina Executive Mansion, and planted a rose garden on the mansion's grounds. She was the first governor's wife to decorate the Governor's Western Residence in Asheville. Sanford sent her children to the first racially integrated public elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina, while the family lived in the executive mansion. She served on the board of the Methodist Home for Children, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Stagville Plantation Restoration Board, and East Carolina University. She was also a member of the Education Commission of the States and the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. While Sanford's husband served as president of Duke University, she was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to serve on a delegation of university faculty and administrators to China in 1975.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Society Staff". Society for Science. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Global Fund for Children | Staff Archived 2011-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Global Fund for Children | Our Model Archived 2011-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Ajmera, Maya; Fields, Gregory A. (2016-05-27). Invisible Children: Reimagining International Development at the Grassroots (1st ed. 2016 ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   9781137578372.
  5. ↑ Charlesbridge | Maya Ajmera Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "About Maya". Maya Ajmera. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  7. ↑ "-Maya Ajmera M.P.P. '93, helping children around the world-Mini-Profiles-November/December 2006". Duke Magazine. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 "Maya Ajmera". Duke I&E: Duke Entrepreneurs. Duke University. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Global Fund for Children | Founder's Story Archived 2011-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 3 "Henry Crown Fellowship". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Global Fund for Children | Board of Directors Archived 2011-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "Society for Science - Inform. Educate. Inspire". www.societyforscience.org. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Maya Ajmera - Society for Science". www.societyforscience.org. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "KIND - Kids in Need of Defense - Maya Ajmera". Archived from the original on 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  15. ↑ "Maya Ajmera - Echoing Green". www.echoinggreen.org. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Sanford School of Public Policy | Board of Visitors Archived 2012-07-17 at archive.today
  17. ↑ American India Foundation | US Advisory Council Archived 2012-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ "Our Patrons". The Golden Baobab. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  19. ↑ Global Fund for Children | Maya Ajmera Archived 2011-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ "Maya Ajmera, David Hollander Jr". 9 September 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2018– via NYTimes.com.
  21. 1 2 Rotary International GASHA Winners Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ Welcome to Charlesbridge Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ↑ "CNN's Heroes Segment - Mira Sorvino" . Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  24. ↑ Philanthropy Journal | Women of Distinction Award Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ "Maya Ajmera Keynote Address at Cedar Crest College". YouTube. May 2021.
  26. ↑ "Global Fund For Children Books". 19 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  27. ↑ "Clinton Global Initiative -- Q&A with Maya Ajmera, Global Fund for Children - PhilanTopic - PND - Foundation Center". pndblog.typepad.com. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  28. ↑ "Think Change India - Download mp3" . Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  29. ↑ "Small Amounts Reap Big Rewards". Tell Me More. National Public Radio. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  30. ↑ Financial Times Interview Archived 2010-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ↑ National Public Radio | Dallas KERA | Listen to Interview
  32. ↑ TEDx Talks (8 May 2011). "TEDxAshokaU 2011 - Maya Ajmera: Breaking Down the Walls" . Retrieved 10 June 2018– via YouTube.
  33. ↑ "TEDxSMU 2011 Speakers". www.tedxsmu.org. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "Reimert Lecture". www.cedarcrest.edu. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.