Maya has extensive experience working with communities, organisations and government, supporting the participatory development, implementation and evaluation of community projects and programs. Her work has a particular focus on  community, cultural and organisational development, evaluation, participatory practices and . Maya has strong skills in developing and implementing training and capacity building processes, participatory evaluation, social research and community development. She has provided mentoring support to a number of community and government workers in community development roles. She has a strong background in work with young people, women, multicultural and Indigenous organisations.

Before founding Side by Side Community Project Consulting, Maya was a Senior Research Officer with the Australian Institute of Family Studies undertaking capacity building, training, action research and evaluation with community organisations and government departments. She has been a member of the ACT Cultural Council and has authored a number of papers on participatory evaluation, action research, and the uses of creative methods such as photography in community development. Maya holds 1st Class Honours in Social Ecology with a Major in Organisational and Community Development from the University of Western Sydney, and is currently working on her Doctorate  at the Australian National University.