This November, MAIA celebrated 11 years since we first launched our program in Guatemala. Over the years, there has been a lot of learning, growth, and change. As we prepare to open our doors to MAIA Impact School’s first-ever high school class and welcome 200 ambitious, driven Girl Pioneers in 2020, we decided to take a moment to reflect on the lessons that got us here.
MAIA, and specifically the Impact School, serves as a hub for innovation, education, and girl-centered design. We welcome partner organizations and external innovators into the school to share their best practices with us and adapt them for the local context. Through collaboration, we are able to train our local team, deliver the highest quality education to the Girl Pioneers, and share what is working with local schools and partners. We are not a final product, and we don’t believe we will ever be one, because our goal is to constantly challenge and push ourselves to be better in an ever-changing environment. We asked some long-term members of MAIA’s team about important learning moments that have helped us grow as an organization. Here is what they had to say:
Norma Baján
Executive Director, MAIA GT
Time at MAIA: 11 Years
The growth of the organization and maintaining quality control has been a constant challenge. Since MAIA is a very innovative organization with high expectations for all employees, I need to make sure I am always a step ahead to support this growth.
As we created our vision and methodology of work, we did not expect MAIA to achieve so much so fast. Our next step is to break the existing systems and paradigms about girls’ education on a national level. We have the formula to change the educational system in Guatemala.
Travis Ning
Executive Director, MAIA USA
Time at MAIA: 11 Years
A fundamental lesson learned is that it can be easy to stay in our comfort zones, even as an organization. It becomes harder and harder to take a step back and evaluate everything, but it is important to do so.
Vilma Saloj
Director of the MAIA Impact School
Time at MAIA: 9 Years
An important lesson we learned over the years was setting specific goals for our programs. This helped us direct our efforts as an organization in a more clear and defined way. An important change was to review our selection process and to really define our target population with our strategic goals in mind.
Andrea Coché
Monitoring & Evaluation Director
Time at MAIA: 9 Years
MAIA is always adapting to change, and we never give up until we have run out of options. An important change has been a shift to focusing on Girl Pioneers’ strengths. I believe that we search for solutions to every problem and that there are no problems—with families, Girl Pioneers or an ally—that we cannot solve. An epiphany we had is that Girl Pioneers can change the world. But for that to happen, we need to help create opportunities, provide them with adequate tools, and ensure they can succeed in life. It was in response to this need that we started the MAIA Impact School.
Roselia Carolina Toj Tzirin
Quality Control Manager
Time at MAIA: 8 Years
My first job at MAIA was as a mentor. When I first started, I learned that we had to be extremely prepared as mentors and educators. Girl Pioneers would ask difficult and powerful questions; it was up to me to ask colleagues and experts for more information on certain subjects to ensure I could answer questions even though I may not have known the response before.
MAIA has always been very innovative, and since I started working at MAIA there has been a lot of change along with new opportunities for improvement every year, and this change is focused on how we can better support Girl Pioneers. I have grown a lot professionally because of MAIA’s innovative philosophy and have received a lot of support for my own growth as well.
Jeronima Sulugui Chumil
Selection Coordinator and Kaqchikel Educator
Time at MAIA: 7 Years (graduated from MAIA’s legacy program)
My time at MAIA has made me stronger in my personal life. As my roles and responsibilities grew at MAIA, I became more empowered to speak in public and to continue learning through different workshops and trainings. One of my favorite aspects of my job is listening to Girl Pioneers and guiding and supporting them. I want them to know I will always be here to support them.
Virgilio Yach Queché
Human Resources Coordinator
Time at MAIA: 6 Years
It has been important to witness the growth of the team. MAIA has invested time and resources to welcome institutional partners to conduct professional development workshops with our staff. This has been done in an intentional way and to value and invest in the talented employees who work at MAIA.
Paola Petzey
Mentorship Coordinator and Vocational Counselor
Time at MAIA: 6 Years
A fundamental lesson learned was the shift to the values and competency model. MAIA has a diverse team with clear goals so that we can work together to achieve them.
Over the last 11 years, MAIA has become a stronger organization because we face challenges head on with an open mind and resiliency. We have high expectations for Girl Pioneers, our staff, and overall for our work. We take on these challenges because we owe it to Girl Pioneers to always be the best we can be. As we grow and develop as an organization, our impact becomes more evident. This is why we will never settle and will continue innovating and pushing ourselves.
At MAIA we celebrate the journeys of Lidia Oxí and Andrea Coché—two remarkable Indigenous women whose leadership is driving impact across Guatemala and beyond. As Lidia transitions to a
Today, October 11th, we join the global celebration of the International Day of the Girl, honoring the potential and vision of girls everywhere.
As we celebrate this day, we are proud
At MAIA, education goes beyond the confines of traditional academics. The Socioemotional Mentorship and Family Engagement Program is central to MAIA’s educational model. It is a unique initiative designed to
MAIA USA
Tax Identification Number (EIN) 68-0652444
Asociación MAIA
Tax Identification Number (NIT) 6896913-9.
Guatemala Office:
Km. 137, Caserío Xolbé,
Cantón El Tablón, Sololá, Guatemala
US Office:
1031 33rd Street, Denver, CO 80205
Every year at the MAIA Impact School, we welcome a new generation of Girl Pioneers. It is a transformative journey that changes the trajectory of the future of their lives, families, and the broader community.
With your investment, these remarkable young women will break cycles of poverty and build a brighter future.
