Manager, Program

she/her

As Manager, Program, Maja Almquist implements programmatic services and provides access to high-quality, research-based, and user-centered professional learning services, tools, and resources to advance educational equity for and with our school system partners. By providing instructional support to teachers, leaders, and coaches across NYC, our partners are better able to improve teaching and learning to effectively implement the curriculum.

Maja is a passionate educator dedicated to urban education, with comprehensive experience teaching English to both middle and elementary school students.

Maja began teaching in 2011 in Harlem, NYC, through the National Teaching Fellowship, after earning a B.S. in Education and Music from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. In an effort to improve her effectiveness in the classroom, she earned her M.S.Ed in Reading/Writing/Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied to become a Reading Specialist. Following that, she returned to NYC and began teaching Reading in Bed Stuy, at one of the largest charter networks in the city. It was there that Maja took on the role of Curriculum Specialist and Instructional Leader. These roles helped Maja to see the true impact of inquiry-based learning. She was able to develop lessons that asked students to write from their lives, creating time and space for students to share their personal histories through narrative writing and discourse—with the goal of empowering students to critically examine the world in which we live.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Maja plays piano, reads fiction, enjoys time in nature, and with her family.