Maya Coykendall
I am passionate about creating spaces where learning, innovation, and advocacy converge, whether through managing learning cohorts, facilitating knowledge sharing among nonprofits, or promoting resilience and recovery in communities I serve.
Maya Coykendall is a research consultant at the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH). She works under Dr. Christina Lee and additionally supports the Health Equity & Addiction Lab ( H.E.A.L.) with projects relating to substance use disorder research. Maya has taken the lead on a project surrounding barriers to disclosing substance use. Currently, she also works as a member engagement specialist at EMPath, supporting network organizations with programs aimed at reducing poverty and supporting economic mobility for their clients or participants.
Previously, Maya worked in New Hampshire in a variety of settings—with refugees in the International Institute of New England’s refugee resettlement program, as a service coordinator supporting children with developmental disabilities, and as the outreach and volunteer coordinator for a interpersonal violence crisis center. Maya has been involved in supporting people who have experienced trauma since she was a University of New Hampshire (UNH) undergraduate, when she worked as an advocate for UNH’s on-campus crisis center, SHARPP. As part of her UNH honors program, Maya completed and published a thesis titled “Before and After the #MeToo Movement: Investigating how the Media Discusses Male Perpetrated Sexual Harassment.” Maya then presented her findings at the Undergraduate Research Conference. Maya holds a Bachelor of Science in social work with a minor in international relations from UNH, where she graduated summa cum laude and completed the interdisciplinary honors program. She attended Boston University School of Social Work as an advanced standing macro student and completed her Master of Social Work with a specialization in trauma, violence, and justice.