Maya M. Garcia

Maya M. Garcia serves as the Science Content Specialist for the Colorado Department of Education, where she leads the implementation efforts for the 2020 Colorado Academic Standards for Science and supports CDE’s STEM education portfolio. Garcia began her career in science education as a middle school science teacher and science department chair in the District of Columbia, where she taught for over eight years. In 2010, she traveled to South Africa as a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher, where she studied how to leverage community collaborations to broaden access to engaging STEM learning experiences in under-resourced areas. In 2013, she joined the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education and led the District’s adoption and implementation efforts around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core Standards for Mathematics.

Garcia has served on various national committees and boards, including the National Academies Board on Science Education. She is a board member for the Council of State Science Supervisors, where she serves as the board’s liaison to the organization’s Equity and Access Committee and as co-chair of the Climate Change Education Committee. Garcia is a Co-Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation-funded “Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education Project.” Garcia is pursuing her Doctorate of Education in Leadership for Educational Equity at the University of Colorado, Denver.