Guest Speaker: Maya Smith

February 25: Maya Smith, Kindness Champion and Mental Health Advocate
Maya was the Executive Director of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation for over a decade, where she
worked to empower young people to create a kinder, braver world, and also be a source for mental
health support. Prior to that, she was CEO for Mobilize.org, where she worked with millennials to
identify societal challenges unique to their generation and fund their solutions through grants.
Now Maya helps companies and nonprofits realize their pro-social missions in the world through her
expertise in strategic visioning and building/scaling movements. Her current client work includes
strategic partnership development for nonprofits working with young people, development work for
leading edge cancer care and patient advocacy organizations, and supporting the board development
and mission alignment work of place-based community organizations.
She envisions a kinder, more inclusive, and more just world where every person is heard, validated, and
celebrated and where we collectively respond to crises with urgency and love.