About
Maia

Maia is a self-proclaimed momtrepreneur, community liaison, wife and mother of four. She served on the Race and Ethnicity Student Data task force at OSPI as part of the Opportunity Gap Oversight Committee. She was Legislative Liaison to the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, a member of the Catholic Daughters Association, Military Order of the World Wars, Tacoma Arts Live and previously served as an Honorary Base Commander at JBLM.

She is the Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Latino Leadership, a civic-engagement, education-oriented non-profit based in Washington State. She founded the organization to empower, inspire and equip the Latino community of Washington to engage in state and local government.

Born on an Air Force Base, Maia grew up in a military family as the oldest of five siblings and has lived all over the United States, attending more than a dozen public schools. Her mother is a retired combat veteran, and her father serves in the Army National Guard. Maia was a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and a distinguished member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Maia continues her commitment to military members and their families.

Maia attended Clover Park High School and was a Running Start graduate from Pierce College at 17 years old. Maia became a single mother while in college but completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University by age 20 with her daughter by her side. She later earned a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governors University.