Welcoming Maya Wiley to The New School
It is with great pleasure that I announce Maya Wiley will join The New School as the Henry Cohen Professor of Urban Policy and Management at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy and as the Senior Vice President for Social Justice. Maya will join the University on July 18, 2016.
Maya brings with her extensive experience in management and her leadership in social justice to The New School. Her expertise will help further our commitment to a rigorous education steeped in social justice.
As the Henry Cohen Professor of Urban Policy and Management, Maya will teach and provide practical training for our students dedicated to innovative, progressive and inclusive public engagement. She will also work to elevate the significance the University’s work on urban policy and management, as well as initiate relevant public policy discourses, such as convening public and private high level discussions with government, business, philanthropic and non-profit leaders.
In her role as Senior Vice President for Social Justice, Maya will work with the University’s senior leadership team, as well as the staff, faculty, and students across the university, who have been actively advancing the progress of social justice and equity at The New School. Maya will be working with all constituencies to evaluate the social justice needs and opportunities, as well as to develop an operational framework for advancing our social justice agenda. Maya’s appointment to this role comes at a time of increased momentum and focus on social justice issues and signifies The New School’s commitment to becoming an ever more diverse and equitable campus.
Maya comes to us from her most recently role as Counsel to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, where she advised the Mayor on legal matters involving City Hall and the executive staff, and also provided counsel to the Mayor on the legal aspects of policy and administrative matters. She also spearheaded special projects, such as expanding affordable broadband access across all five boroughs, jobs for all New Yorkers and civil and human rights and gender equity. She was the City’s Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprise Director and the Mayor’s liaison to the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. She also served on the City’s Procurement Policy Board, and the Board of the Fund for the City of New York.
In addition, Maya is the Founder and former President of the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy strategy organization on racial inclusion. A civil rights attorney and policy advocate, she has litigated, lobbied the U.S. Congress and developed programs to transform structural racism in the U.S. and in South Africa.
Maya holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Dartmouth College.
David E. Van Zandt, President