(she/her) 11 years in care
Maria Aoki-Chavez is a passionate advocate for equity and communal liberation, rooted in her Pacifica and Zacatecan heritage and shaped by over a decade in the foster care system. A trailblazer from the start, she co-founded the University of Connecticut’s first student-led organizations for youth with foster care and homelessness experience. Maria holds a Master’s in Public Administration with a policy concentration and has served as a Policy Fellow for both the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO) and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Now a national training and technical assistance consultant, Maria works with organizations committed to dismantling systemic barriers and centering lived experience in social change. Her work is guided by a decolonial justice ethos, with a focus on uplifting historically excluded communities. When she’s not advocating for change, she’s likely cuddling her two cats, Bagheera and Finny, or connecting with peers in movement spaces.
