Maya Ajmera
Encyclopedia
Maya Ajmera is the founder of The Global Fund for Children
, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the dignity of children and youth by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable young people.
Ajmera is also the author of more than fifteen award-winning children's books, including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey Around the World, Extraordinary Girls, To Be an Artist, and Faith.
in Durham. 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
.
in 1994, when she was just 25 years old. 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, Ajmera applied for and won a seed grant from Echoing Green
. This initial funding helped her build an organization to support innovative grassroots efforts on behalf of vulnerable children around the world.
During her tenure years with the organization, the Global Fund for Children gave more than $22 million in capital to nearly 500 grassroots organizations in 75 countries. These grants have served more than one million children around the world. Ajmera left her position as president in 2011, after sixteen years, but remains on GFC's board of directors.
For the 2011-2012 academic year Ajmera is a visiting scholar at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University
. She also serves on the boards of directors of New Global Citizens and Echoing Green.
Ajmera is a trustee for the North Carolina School of Science and Math and on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She also serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Center for Advanced Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University and the American India Foundation
. She was a trustee for the Blue Moon fund, and she served on the board of the Washington Area Women's Foundation for nine years before becoming part of that organization's Leadership Council.
In October 2007, Maya Ajmera was featured on CNN's Heroes segment. Actress Mira Sorvino named Ajmera as her hero.
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.
She served on the Innovation and Civil Society subgroup of the Obama Presidential Transition’s Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group.
Ajmera is a member of the 2011 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.
Many of Maya's books have forewords written by prominent individuals, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Bradley
, Marian Wright Edelman
, and even Kermit the Frog
.
Interview with Think Change India, 2008
Appearance on NPR's Tell Me More, 2008
Interview with The Financial Times, 2008
Appearance on Dallas NPR Station KERA, 2009
TEDxAshokaU: Universities Driving Global Change at Duke University, February 25, 2011
TEDxSMU, 2011
William D. Reimert Lecture at Cedar Crest College, 2011.
The Global Fund for Children
The mission of The Global Fund for Children is to advance the dignity of children and youth around the world. GFC pursues its mission by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth, complemented by a dynamic...
, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the dignity of children and youth by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable young people.
Ajmera is also the author of more than fifteen award-winning children's books, including Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey Around the World, Extraordinary Girls, To Be an Artist, and Faith.
Early life and education
Raised in eastern North Carolina by Indian immigrants, Ajmera graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and MathematicsNorth Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics is a two-year, public residential high school located in Durham, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of science, mathematics and technology. The school accepts rising juniors from across North Carolina and enrolls them through...
in Durham. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
and a master's degree in public policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy
Sanford School of Public Policy
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...
at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
Career
Ajmera founded The Global Fund for ChildrenThe Global Fund for Children
The mission of The Global Fund for Children is to advance the dignity of children and youth around the world. GFC pursues its mission by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth, complemented by a dynamic...
in 1994, when she was just 25 years old. 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, Ajmera applied for and won a seed grant from Echoing Green
Echoing green
For the electronic band, see The Echoing Green , for the poem see The Echoing GreenEchoing Green is a twenty year-old global non-profit organization operating in the area of early-stage social sector investing...
. This initial funding helped her build an organization to support innovative grassroots efforts on behalf of vulnerable children around the world.
During her tenure years with the organization, the Global Fund for Children gave more than $22 million in capital to nearly 500 grassroots organizations in 75 countries. These grants have served more than one million children around the world. Ajmera left her position as president in 2011, after sixteen years, but remains on GFC's board of directors.
For the 2011-2012 academic year Ajmera is a visiting scholar at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. She also serves on the boards of directors of New Global Citizens and Echoing Green.
Ajmera is a trustee for the North Carolina School of Science and Math and on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She also serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Center for Advanced Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University and the American India Foundation
American India Foundation
The American India Foundation is a nonprofit American organization that is devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India...
. She was a trustee for the Blue Moon fund, and she served on the board of the Washington Area Women's Foundation for nine years before becoming part of that organization's Leadership Council.
Marriage and children
Maya Ajmera is married to David Hutzler Hollander Jr., an intellectual properties attorney at Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg.Honors and awards
Ajmera was the recipient of a Rotary International Graduate Fellowship to study in South Asia in 1989-1990 and a zone winner for Rotary International's Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award. 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.In October 2007, Maya Ajmera was featured on CNN's Heroes segment. Actress Mira Sorvino named Ajmera as her hero.
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.
She served on the Innovation and Civil Society subgroup of the Obama Presidential Transition’s Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group.
Ajmera is a member of the 2011 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.
Published works
- Xanadu: The Imaginary Place Edited by Maya Ajmera and Olateju Omolodun. Charlesbridge 1999.
- Extraordinary Girls By Maya Ajmera, Olateju Omolodun, and Sarah Strunk. Charlesbridge 1999.
- Let the Games Begin! By Maya Ajmera and Michael J. Regan. Charlesbridge 2000.
- Children from Australia to Zimbabwe By Maya Ajmera and Anna Rhesa Versola. Charlesbridge 2001.
- Come Out and Play By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
- To Be a Kid By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
- Back to School By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
- A Kid's Best Friend By Maya Ajmera and Alex Fisher. Charlesbridge 2002.
- Animal Friends By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2002.
- To Be an Artist By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2004.
- Be My Neighbor By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2004.
- Children of the USA By Maya Ajmera, Arlene Hirschfelder, Yvonne Wakim Dennis, and Cynthia Pon. Charlesbridge 2008.
- Faith By Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis and Cynthia Pon. Charlesbridge 2009.
- Our Grandparents: A Global Album By Maya Ajmera, Sheila Kinkade and Cynthia Pon. Charlesbridge, 2010.
- What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World By Maya Ajmera, Elise Dertine, and Cynthia Pon. Charlesbridge forthcoming.
- Healthy Kids By Maya Ajmera and Cynthia Pon. Charlesbridge forthcoming.
Many of Maya's books have forewords written by prominent individuals, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
, Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...
, and even Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
.
Interviews and speeches
Interview with the Clinton Global Initiative, 2007Interview with Think Change India, 2008
Appearance on NPR's Tell Me More, 2008
Interview with The Financial Times, 2008
Appearance on Dallas NPR Station KERA, 2009
TEDxAshokaU: Universities Driving Global Change at Duke University, February 25, 2011
TEDxSMU, 2011
William D. Reimert Lecture at Cedar Crest College, 2011.