Meet Maia Pearson

Maia Pearson is a hard working mother of three teenagers and is currently the vice president of Madison’s Board of Education. She is a dedicated public servant and long time community organizer with extensive experience in fighting for all Wisconsinites. Being raised in part by her activist grandmother, who migrated to Wisconsin from Florida in the early 60’s seeking better educational and employment opportunities, as well as access to voter rights, from a young age, Maia understood and practiced the value of community collaboration, and knows the importance of working together with others in order to obtain a common goal and create change. She is committed to public service, education, community development, and ultimately making a positive difference in the community.

Born and raised in South Madison, Maia attended Madison public schools and later graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in International Relations and East Asian studies. Maia started her career in youth development, making significant contributions to the early years of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County.  From 2020 to 2022, Maia was the Wisconsin Director of Organizing for Rise, Inc., a youth-led organization focused on "building students’ political power to ensure the cost of higher education never prevents students from pursuing their dreams." As the state director, she organized and mobilized thousands of young people across Wisconsin to get civically engaged, contributing to historic youth voter turnout. In addition to voter access, Maia advocated for affordable and accessible college through the expansion of UW-Madison’s Bucky Promise, which lead to creation of Wisconsin Tuition Promise Program. Maia is currently the program coordinator for Mann Educational Opportunity Fund (Mann Fund), a scholarship endowed program for Madison high schoolers who face significant economic and personal challenges. 

Maia has an impressive track record of community and volunteer involvement. She served as a member of the Wisconsin National and Community Service board and the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award commission. Maia is also the co-founder of South Madison Unite! (SMU!), and has actively contributed to numerous committees and coalitions such as the South Madison Voters Steering Committee, Police Civilian Oversight board executive committee, the African American Parent Leadership Council, Local Progress Black Caucus Leadership Committee, and the South Metropolitan Planning Council to name a few.