Biography
Researcher and designer for social impact. Organizational strategist and facilitator. Passionate about solving complex challenges and creating more equitable outcomes for communities.
Maura is a designer for social impact who has tackled some of society’s most complex human challenges. Maura has worked directly with underserved communities and individuals who are affected by poverty, trauma, cognitive disabilities, and HIV/AIDS. She has contributed research and design on urban challenges such as education, redlining, and mental illness. In recent years, Maura has focused on homelessness while working at the City of Austin Innovation Office. She has facilitated the co-design of community solutions such as an award-winning homelessness outreach team. Her work paved the path for Austin to be awarded a multi-million dollar grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to support an innovation team on homelessness. She believes that human-centered design and co-creation are powerful tools for creating equitable services and improving community outcomes.
