Maia Watson
“I am passionate about closing gaps in opportunity and access for marginalized communities.”
A Barbados native, Maia Watson, MBA/MA ’24, grew up attending one of the oldest schools in the Caribbean. It was there that she learned of the power and value of education. “We were taught that education could not only transform ourselves, but our community as well.” After moving to Costa Rica at 16 and later to Baltimore for college, however, Maia began noticing huge disparities in access to education and capital and the resulting impact on communities. “I knew then that I wanted to help solve these systemic issues.”
That drive to tackle such problems brought Maia to Stanford, where she is currently pursuing a dual MBA and MA in education. “I wanted to learn how to break down ambiguous problems into actionable strategies," Maia says, and marry the strengths of the private sector with the education sector.
With her interests in edtech and equity, Maia has been able to further explore the intersection of those interests through both the GSB Impact Fund and as a Leadership for Society scholar. (Scholars work on individual projects that develop their understanding of chosen issues, allowing them to identify opportunities for societal progress.) “As part of the GSB Impact Fund's Justice deal team, I focused on sourcing edtech and fintech startups with a focus on equity. My research for Leadership for Society explores how the racial wealth gap can be closed and the role that venture capital can play.”
At the GSB, Maia is also involved with the Black Business Student Association (BBSA), where she serves as one of the co-chairs for the club’s annual conference.
“The BBSA has hugely impacted my experience at the GSB. I had the opportunity to interview one of our keynote speakers from last year’s conference, and the conference overall was one of the highlights of my GSB experience.”
Black Excellence: A Legacy of Leadership is this year’s conference theme. “We aim to explore the many ways in which Black excellence is demonstrated across industries to better understand how to cultivate it for our future.”
