Who We Are

Meet Our Staff

Maya Morales Garcia

CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER

As Beyond100K’s Chief Program Officer, Maya leads the organization’s efforts to take grow and nurture a vibrant network of diverse, powerful partners from across sectors to take action as a community and make meaningful progress toward reaching our moonshot goal. 

Previously, she served as the Science and STEM education lead for both the Colorado Department of Education as well as the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia, where she oversaw standards implementation efforts and led strategic initiatives in STEM. In this capacity, she also cultivated cross-sector stakeholder groups that served to advance implementation efforts and launch the STEM Learning Ecosystems. Before that, Maya taught 8th-grade science for eight years in the District of Columbia, where she also led professional development and served as a master teacher. An experienced educator, Maya knows that we must be intentional about co-creating affirming and justice-centered learning environments and learning experiences where students can develop and refine their identities in science and STEM.

Maya holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavior from Mount Holyoke College, an MAT from American University in DC, and is currently pursuing her doctorate of Education in Leadership for Educational Equity at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Why is STEM important to you?

As a woman of color and dedicated STEM educator, I am deeply committed to ensuring our youth have access to affirming and inclusive STEM learning environments and experiences. My parents were my first STEM teachers helping me cultivate a connection to the land as well as a lifelong love of learning. In my formal schooling, I was mentored by women in science/STEM, as well as some phenomenal teachers, all of which helped me hone my identity in STEM. Understanding and unpacking our STEM stories helps us see how experiences of belonging and non-belonging have shaped our connection to the content and influence our STEM identity.