Maya Edwards, PhD
Onsite Staff
Barcelona Director
Maya hails from Cleveland, Ohio, where she spent her formative years before embarking on a journey that spanned continents. After studying abroad several times in Spain, she ultimately decided to establish roots, and has since lived in Sevilla, Granada, San Sebastian, Madrid, and Barcelona. As such, Spain has been integral to her academic and professional journey. Maya has been working with students both in Spain and in the U.S. for over 15 years, and has experience in international education, hospital translation and interpretation, and as a Spanish instructor. She began working in Study Abroad in 2006 and has since held roles in many facets of the field. At Texas Tech University Center in Sevilla, she was both a Spanish Instructor and an International Program Coordinator. Additionally, Maya has worked with high school programs in Chile and in San Sebastian, Spain. Maya joined AIFS in 2022 as Resident Director in Barcelona.
In her free time Maya loves to read and feels that reading is often another way to travel. She loves “exploring” via the pages of books, imagining stories, people, faraway places, and different identities and realities. She loves libraries, book fairs, and cool bookstores. She also is passionate about food. Though once a very picky eater, Maya now loves to try new foods and loves to discover new restaurants and markets. She loves to travel and does so as often as she can.
