“ MY PREVIOUS SUCCESSES AND SETBACKS IN ADVOCACY PROVIDE HELPFUL LESSONS IN TRYING TO ADDRESS NEW CHALLENGES.” —Maya Harris
At the time,Maya was only 29 years old. “It’s important to be open-minded about
unexpected opportunities,” she says. “I never thought I would be dean of a law school at 29, nor that I would ever work in philanthropy. With each of these opportunities, I have been able to make a difference and also learn and grow.” By 2000, she was exploring yet another career
avenue as a senior associate at the Oakland-based PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity. Tere, she conducted research and wrote reports highlight- ing the benefits of community-centered policing practices in dozens of U.S. cities. Maya’s diverse work experiences were immedi-
ately welcomed when she joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California in 2003, eventually rising to executive director of the San Francisco-based affiliate, says Alan Schlosser, legal director of ACLU-NC. Maya led ambitious public engagement campaigns in which she directed and coordinated litigation, media, lobbying, and grass- roots activism in areas such as eliminating racial bias in the criminal justice system and achieving educational equity in public schools. “What Maya brought to the table was a litiga- tor’s perspective along with experience in policy
advocacy,” Schlosser says. “Te ACLU had been trying to initiate more multi-disciplinary cam- paigns, and when Maya came here, we were able to accelerate the effort. She’s a great communicator and was versatile in her ability to talk to other law- yers [as well as] legislators, nonprofit foundation officials, and people from different communities.” Maya says her background in civil rights and
in other areas of the law “has been tremendously valuable for our strategic thinking and grant- making” at the Ford Foundation, particularly because she has had “real-world, practical experi- ence lawyering for social change.” She adds: “My previous successes and setbacks
in advocacy provide helpful lessons in trying to address new challenges.” Neither Maya nor her sister pictures herself as
anything but a lawyer. Nor does either of them envision any professional path straying far from that of addressing the plight of those less fortunate. Meantime, they spend each day trying to make the world a more just society—in ways their mother taught them. D&B
Lydia Lum is a freelance writer and former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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