Maya is a confident and ambitious young woman who enjoys advocating on behalf of others. She’s active in connecting with young people in Inverclyde, using her social media to directly engage with their voices, as well as hosting and presenting workshops for youth groups and schools.

Since becoming a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament in November 2022, she has shown a real passion for campaigning on increasing sexual health education in schools, and since being elected as the convener of the Health, Well-being and Sports committee earlier this year, has shown a true dedication to improving young people’s mental health. Maya has presented to the Scottish Government’s executive team on improving mental health training and education in Scotland, stressing the importance of upskilling teachers and youth workers to support young people during the epidemic of worsening mental health. Her contribution was evidence based and expertly delivered, grabbing the attention of senior Scottish Government officials in the room.

She has also participated in focus groups run by the Scottish Government on Health and Social Care to help create policy and services that reflects people’s needs. Her valuable input, amongst other things, has lead to her being appointed onto the Joint Strategic Board for Child and Family Mental Health, as well as onto the Scottish Youth Parliament’s Board of Trustees – where she’ll use the expertise she has developed from years of local advocacy to help lead SYP’s national advocacy work.

Within Inverclyde, she works with the council to develop their ‘CLD Partnership Plan’ – building on her experience of community-based learning and work to ensure learning services are effective and efficient no matter who is accessing them from Inverclyde. In both 2023 and 2024, Inverclyde Council invited Maya to host the ‘Year of the Young People Legacy Awards’ to spotlight the contributions and achievements of children and young people to the area.