Maya Wiley Biography
Maya Wiley is an American civil rights activist, lawyer and academic best known as the CEO and president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights since May 2022. In 2021, she vied for the New York City Democratic mayoral primary where she was third.
She also holds the position of senior vice president for social justice at The New School and also serves as a professor at the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment. In March of 2022, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights declared Wiley as the new president and CEO for both the organization and its affiliated group, The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Wiley will officially assume this role on May 2.
Maya Wiley Age
How old is Maya? Maya is 61 years old as of 2025. She was born on January 2, 1964, in Syracuse, New York, United States. She celebrates her birthday on 2 January every year. RELATED: Carly Schroeder
Maya Wiley Education
Wiley attended and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Dartmouth College in 1986. She then earned her law degree from Columbia University School of Law in 1989, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
What nationality is Maya Wiley? Nationality
What ethnicity is Maya? Wiley belongs to the black ethnicity/heritage, she was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, United States and she holds American nationality.
Maya Wiley Height
How tall is Wiley? Wiley stands at an average height of 5 feet 8 inches(1.82 m).
Maya Wiley Parents
Maya is the daughter of (father) George Wiley and (mother) Wretha Frances Whittle. Her father served as a civil rights leader and academic while her mother Wretha was a civil rights activist. RELATED: Bianca Peters
Maya Wiley Mother
Maya was born to her white mother Wretha Frances Whittle Wiley. Her mother was a civil rights activist. Through her parents, Maya developed an interest in law and civil rights and she had to pursue a career in law, civil rights and human rights. She chose to follow in her parent’s footsteps.
Maya Wiley Husband
Is Maya married? Maya is happily married to her husband Harlan Mandel, the CEO of the Media Development Investment Fund.
Maya Wiley Daughters
Maya and her husband Harlan are proud parents to two daughters, Naja Wiley Mandel and Kai Wiley Mandel. They reside in Brooklyn with their two daughters.
Maya Wiley Net Worth
Wiley has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through being a civil rights activist, lawyer, and professor.
Maya Wiley Salary
How much does she earn? Wiley earns an estimated salary ranging between $90,000 – $250,500 per year.
Maya Wiley Career
After law school, Wiley worked as a civil rights attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she focused on issues of racial justice and equality. She also served as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Open Society Institute, working on issues such as affirmative action, housing discrimination, and police reform. READ: Loren Gray
In 2009, Wiley was appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as Counsel to the Mayor, where she served as the chief legal advisor to the administration and oversaw major initiatives on civil rights, education, and economic development. During her tenure, she played a key role in the implementation of universal pre-kindergarten in New York City and led the development of the city’s first-ever broadband plan.
In 2016, Wiley was appointed as the chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), an independent agency tasked with investigating complaints of police misconduct in New York City. During her tenure, she implemented several reforms to increase transparency and accountability in the agency’s operations, including the use of body cameras by CCRB investigators.
Wiley has also been a professor of Urban Policy and Management at The New School in New York City, where she has taught courses on civil rights and social justice. She has appeared as a legal analyst on several news programs, including MSNBC and CNN, and has written opinion pieces for The New York Times and The Nation.
In 2021, Wiley ran for mayor of New York City, positioning herself as a progressive candidate with a focus on racial and economic justice. Although she did not win the election, she emerged as a prominent voice in the city’s political landscape and continues to advocate for progressive policies and social justice issues.
