Maisa Arias was born in Lima, Peru and raised in a family dedicated to social change and justice. Her mother was the first woman to be appointed Secretary of Health in Peru, and her father implemented continental initiatives to expand access to arts and culture throughout Peru.
Maisa received her BA in Journalism and Social Communication in Lima, in 2001 before moving to the United States. Maisa earned her Early Childhood certification from City College of San Francisco and worked with children in elementary and middle schools. It’s during this time that she discovered her true passion: to create the just world that children need and deserve—the world that her own parents envisioned for all.
In 2011, Maisa began her journey with Pachamama Alliance—a nonprofit that partners with indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest to support them in preserving their lands. From the insights gain doing that work, Pachamama Alliance creates and delivers programs around the world to inspire people into action to bring forth a future that works for all. You might say that Maisa finally found her true calling.
In 2012, Maisa was hired as the Global Community Manager for Pachamama Alliance. In this capacity, Maisa has travelled the world presenting the transformational educational programs of Pachamama Alliance to thousands of participants in over a dozen countries; trained hundreds of volunteers to deliver these programs; and organized, trained, and supported communities of volunteers to develop their capacity to coordinate concrete action toward a better world-starting locally. Maisa’s focus today is in creating transformational content to achieve climate justice.
It is Maisa’s belief that creating a space for people to examine and re-calibrate all of their relations— their relationship with the natural world, with the human family, and with themselves—is one fundamental step toward the creation of an aware and conscious human presence on the planet.
Today, Maisa lives in San Francisco, California with her son Mayu and her partner Ryan. She enjoys flamenco dancing, backpacking, and long urban hikes with Mayu. She maintains a deep connection to her Andean roots, and is committed to bringing the gifts of that connection to the places she visits.
