Maya Jenkins

Curriculum Vitae

Maya Moret Jenkins

Brooklyn, NY

Education

  • May 2022

    Harvard College

    Bachelor of Arts in Sociology; Highest Honors. Cambridge, MA

    • Honors thesis: “Ensuring Domestic Utility: Racialized Women, Affective Labor, and the Expansion of American Empire”
    • Relevant coursework: Constitutions, Law, and Empire; Racial Capitalism and Imperialism: The US between the Revolution and the Civil War; Models of Social Science Research; Introduction to Social Inequality; Quantitative Methods in Sociology; Tutorial in Sociological Theory
    • Leadership and activities: Member, Sociology Advisory Council, 2021–2022; Vice President, Institute of Politics, 2018–2019; Member, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Standing Committee on Public Service, 2018–2019
  • Jan. – June 2020

    Pembroke College, University of Cambridge

    Visiting Student; A grade. Cambridge, UK

    • Relevant coursework: Power, Economy, and Social Transformation; Racism, Race, and Ethnicity

Conference presentations

  • April 2022

    Jenkins, Maya. “Ensuring Domestic Utility: Coerced Affective Labor and American Empire Building.” Oral presentation delivered at the Harvard College Scholarship & Social Justice Undergraduate Research Conference, Cambridge, MA.

Grants and honors

  • Summer 2021

    Stephen Rose Sociology Undergraduate Research Fund Award

    Recipient

    • Selected from competitive pool to receive $4,235 to fund honors thesis research; funds used to review archival materials held by the Library of Congress and by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
  • Summer 2019

    Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellowship in Government Service

    Fellow

    • Selected from competitive pool of applicants to receive $5,000 in funding to pursue an internship in the public sector
  • Spring 2018

    Thomas Dingman Emerging Leader Award

    Recipient

    • Recognized by Harvard College for leadership skills and contribution to the vibrancy of campus life

Research and work experience

  • March 2026 – Present

    Americans for Financial Reform/Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund

    Senior Policy Analyst

    • Develop principles for responding to financial and economic crises in ways that advance worker and community justice and create documents to lay them out
    • Build support for crisis response principles within AFREF’s networks of partner organizations and allies and with policymakers
    • Coordinate with key partners, driving work plans and sharing information for policy development and advocacy on crisis response
    • Write opinion pieces, blog posts, explainers, white papers, and other documents that make connections across issues, including consumer finance, crypto, investor protection, systemic risk, and more, and embed them in the context of broader economic and racial justice policies
    • Communicate AFREF’s perspectives to the press and through social media
    • Represent AFREF in meetings with allies and policymakers
  • April 2024 – March 2026

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

    Complex Financial Institution Policy Analyst. New York, NY

    • Performed financial research and analysis in the development of regulatory guidelines and assessment of policy initiatives, including on issues relating to resolution planning, systemic risk, digital assets and other technology-related financial issues
    • Researched and prepared case studies on past supervisory activities in order to make recommendations on updating best practices
    • Engaged with staff of other supervisory and regulatory agencies – including international coordinating bodies (e.g. Financial Stability Board) and foreign regulatory bodies (e.g. Bank of England, His Majesty’s Treasury) – to develop and implement policy initiatives pertaining to bank failure and resolution at a global scale
    • Recipient of four awards for outstanding individual contribution to regulatory work products
  • Sep. 2022 – May 2023

    Boston Review

    Black Voices in the Public Sphere Fellow

    • Selected from highly competitive applicant pool for nine-month, paid fellowship with Boston Review
    • Commissioned and edited an essay that was selected as a notable essay in Best American Essays 2024
    • Pitched and developed essay series, with a focus on building cross-racial solidarities between Asian communities and Black communities, using colonially-conditioned diasporic links as a map
    • Commissioned essays from writers and academics for publication for a general audience, consistent with essay series development
    • Revised essay submissions, working with writers over a period of several months to develop pieces from ideation to draft to publication
  • July 2022 – December 2023

    Office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren

    Legislative Aide, June – December 2023. Washington, D.C.

    Legislative Correspondent, July 2022 – June 2023

    • Developed and drafted legislation on policy issues under the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, with a special focus on prudential regulation, capital markets, consumer and worker protection, corporate governance, and cryptocurrency
    • Prepared and staffed the Senator for meetings with other Members of Congress, principals at federal agencies, and other important stakeholders; researched and briefed the Senator on relevant emerging issues; wrote lines of questioning for the Senator’s use during hearings of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
    • Represented the Senator’s position on banking issues, including cryptocurrency, prudential regulation, capital markets, and worker and consumer protection to stakeholders, conferences, working groups, and others
    • Synthesized complex financial regulations and communicated them to diverse audiences via statements, tweets, hearing questions, and speeches
    • Managed and tracked legislation on economic justice policy priorities
  • May 2020 – May 2021

    Impactual LLC

    Program Associate. Washington, D.C.

    • Researched a range of civic engagement and campaign issues with a special focus on congressional campaigns and voter engagement in service of nonprofit partners and grantees, with special focus on those supporting Black and brown voters
    • Developed and maintained databases to track client donations, competitive state and federal elections, and other relevant data
    • Wrote and copy-edited memoranda, research documents, and multimedia presentations to support voter engagement and election integrity work
    • Published and ghostwrote articles and made media appearances on behalf of clients

Teaching experience

  • April 2023

    Rutgers University – Newark, English Department

    Guest Lecturer. Newark, NJ

    • Invited by Professor Gaiutra Bahadur to lecture and lead discussion with undergraduate students on critical non-fiction writing and editing using a historical frame
  • Sep. 2018 – May 2022

    Harvard University, Harvard College Writing Center

    Peer Tutor. Cambridge, MA

    • Invited by Harvard College expository writing teaching staff to apply for role
    • Led five students a week in one-on-one, hour-long coaching sessions through the ideation, drafting, and editing phases of essay writing
    • Developed a special focus on essay structure, crafting compelling central academic proposals, and strengthening the potency of paper arguments and the marshaling of evidence
    • Prepared and lectured using multimedia presentations to students across the College outlining the utility of the Writing Center’s free services

Board service

  • February 2026 – Present

    The Common

    Member, Board of Directors

Selected publications

Professional certificates

  • August 2025

    Statistics Foundations Professional Certificate

    Wolfram Research