Maya is a senior from Cary, NC majoring in Health Policy and Management as well as Economics. She came to UNC originally interested in pursuing medicine, but quickly realized her fascination with healthcare lived on a systemic level rather than a scientific one. Her pre-professional interests center on the intersection of public health, health financing, and health economics. She applied to AED immediately upon learning that it was a pre-health organization open to public health majors. While she no longer sees herself in a clinical role, she believes understanding, communication, and collaboration across healthcare disciplines are essential to shaping the next generation of healthcare leaders, and that belief, alongside the friendships and community she's built along the way, has made AED one of her favorite parts of UNC.

This past summer, Maya worked as a Healthcare Consulting Intern at a payer contracting firm that helps independent practices negotiate stronger commercial payer contracts so they can stay financially sustainable while continuing to treat patients. She is also the UNC Economics Department’s #1 fan, as she studied abroad with them the summers after her freshman and sophomore years, and has been an active and excited Econ ULA ever since sophomore year! She has also been part of UNC's SHAC Get Covered Carolina branch since sophomore year, and this year she gets to serve on their executive board as data coordinator. Outside of that, you can find her planning her next trip, reading, trying to discover new music or attending a concert, watching movies, or testing new recipes!