Maya is a culinary nutritionist, herbalist, and experiential food artist who resides and regenerates in Santa Barbara, California.

Her offerings stem from a decade working in the food & holistic wellness industry with a wide range of clients from professional athletes to postpartum parents. Her passion lies in dancing across the bridge that unites Spirit with Science, and often shape shifts between roles to better understand how these polarities inform one another. 

She received education in biochemistry, dietetics, and kinesiology from Loyola Marymount University and the University of Arizona. Time spent in these structured learning labs trained her in evaluating research and concepts from an objective and evidence-based perspective. Her independent research currently explores global landscapes and soil microbial diversity with the intention of understanding how this can inform health of the human gut microbiome. Further topics of interest within the regenerative field include learning how to apply quantum agriculture, biodynamics, and biophotonics concepts to create a more productive home gardening experience.

Maya’s path to alternative education is also rooted in the ritualistic practices of her ancestral lineage (West African, Indigenous American, American South). She believes that it’s imperative for a new education model to recognize the wisdom passed down through human generations via storytelling and reconnecting to our ancestral roots.

Her culinary training is deeply intuitive and self-guided by traversing the globe and receiving invitations into the kitchens of wise grandmothers, innovative restaurant chefs, and local street vendors. She has studied with mentors Ashe Brown of Pura Luna Apothecary, Marysia Miernowska of School of the Sacred Wild, Empress Karen M. Rose of Sacred Vibes Apothecary, Marilu Shinn of Kawak Energy Medicine, Adriana Ayales of Anima Mundi Apothecary, and the teachings of Dr. Vasant Lad of The Ayurvedic Institute.

Maya’s path is one of embodied light and shadow work, which ultimately leads to a place of authentic healing within the self and community. From being trauma, addiction, and poverty-informed, she has accrued a skillset that empowers others to transmute painful experiences into personal and collective power. She believes the ultimate goal of healing is liberation for of Grandmother Earth and ALL her children.