Michael Maya

Guest Author

Michael Maya is the Director of the International Bar Association’s North America office in Washington, D.C., where he liaises with members of the legal profession in the U.S. and abroad, U.S. governmental bodies, international organizations (UN, World Bank, etc.), and human rights organizations.  He is active in a number of public service and human rights initiatives, including inquiries on crimes against humanity in North Korean prison camps and detention centers. Currently, he is working on a podcast on the intersection of neuroscience, authoritarianism, and the rule of law.   

Prior to joining the IBA, Michael spent nearly two decades working with lawyers, judges, parliamentarians, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations to promote the rule of law with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), and a predecessor entity, the ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA CEELI).  During his tenure at CEELI, he lived and worked in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Moscow, Russia, before returning to the U.S. to direct CEELI’s programs in the former Soviet Union.  He later served as its Deputy Director. In 2007, he helped spearhead the consolidation of the ABA’s various international development programs into a new entity, ABA ROLI.  As ABA ROLI’s Deputy Director, Michael helped oversee programs in 60 countries, focusing primarily on programs in sub-Saharan Africa.  He is the author of book chapters and articles on the rule of law, including two chapters in The Rule of Law in the 21st Century.  He is on the advisory boards of Street Law, the World Bank Compact & Forum, and the Himalayan Climate and Science Institute.  Before shifting his focus to the international arena, Michael practiced law in New York City.  He earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, and a J.D. from Cornell University.