Malia is a Philadelphia native who comes to ArtWell with a breadth of experience in nonprofit programming and fundraising. For the last three years, she has focused on out-school-time enrichment for youth living at the below the poverty level, growing Horizons at Greene Street Friends and initiating the program's first pre-kindergarten class. Malia's development work over the last decade has spanned a variety of focus areas, including: the impact of poverty on educational access and outcomes; social-emotional learning; OST enrichment; early childhood education; literacy skill development; career pathways; vocational trade education; and summer learning loss prevention.

Malia completed a Bachelor of Art at DePaul University where she was also a Steans Center Community Service Scholar for four years, subsequently studying social policy at University of Delaware and Beijing Normal University. She is currently a fellow in the National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring Heads program, and she is completing a Master of Science in Education at University of Pennsylvania with a focus on sexual violence prevention and comprehensive sex education. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, lifting weights, and baking. Malia has an affection for poetry, and her earliest literary memories were crafting poems and writing children's books. Her favorite poet is Maya Angelou. Malia also loves to sing and has written and recorded songs intended to help Black and Brown children develop positive racial identity and confidence.