Maia Elkana is the Evaluation Director for Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University in St. Louis where she leads the research and evaluation team's efforts to better understand and promote the impacts of the ISP and partner educators. In addition to designing and implementing the ISP's monitoring and evaluation for professional development and STEM education programs, Maia is the research director for the ISP's early childhood focused research-practice partnership. 

Prior to joining the ISP, Maia's two decades of nonprofit experience includes hospital social work, program management, program evaluation, independent research and evaluation consulting, and research-practice partnerships both from the perspective of the researcher and as the practitioner. She also serves as an adjunct professor in the Brown School of Social Work where she is able to share her love for evaluation and program design through courses and professional learning workshops. 

She is a passionate advocate for families, children, and the professionals who serve them. Maia specializes in connecting big picture goals to simple, everyday activities, bringing a pragmatic systems approach to designing, monitoring, and improving the programs & policies that shape our world.

Maia holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology as well as a master’s degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in Economics with a focus in data analytics from University of Missouri St. Louis. Outside of work, she serves on several nonprofit boards including EASL, reads too much speculative fiction, and loves playing tabletop games.

Contact Maia: mjelkana@wustl.edu