Maja Anderson, M.A., M.F.A., serves as Assistant Director for Administration for the Virginia Governor's School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Humanities. Anderson's expertise spans user experience, visual arts, digital media, and emerging technologies. Her background in communications, research, and teaching—particularly in community engagement and international education—enables her to design innovative programs that enrich student learning.
A central aspect of her approach is applying design thinking to address complex "wicked problems." Through hands-on workshops, she guides students in creating videos, zines, infographics, and websites. This interdisciplinary and practical method aligns with the Virginia Governor's School's mission to immerse students in real-world problem-solving experiences.
Concurrently, she serves as Visiting Faculty at Cornell University and Tompkins Cortland Community College, teaching Moral Psychology in Action, Community-Engaged Pedagogy, and Portfolio Development. She is also the Student Development Project Manager at Cornell's David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, where she leads the redesign of student development and peer-mentorship programs, with an emphasis on community-engaged learning and research.
Previously, Anderson was Program Manager for Cornell's Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity, where she directed interdisciplinary projects, advised students, developed curriculum, and established the Milstein Program MakerSpace. She was also the Manager of Undergraduate International Experiences at Cornell, where she oversaw the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholars Program.
Anderson has co-designed and facilitated workshops presented at international conferences and the Virginia Governor's School, collaborating with faculty and Radford students, and is the outgoing President of Wicked Society of Radford University.
She holds an M.F.A. in Art and Design Thinking from Radford University and an M.A. in Education and Emerging Technology.