Maya Soetoro-Ng facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maya Soetoro-Ng
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Soetoro-Ng in 2013
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| Born |
Maya Kasandra Soetoro
August 15, 1970 Jakarta, Indonesia
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| Education |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Konrad Ng
(m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | |
| Relatives | Barack Obama (half-brother) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |
| Thesis | Border pictures: Hybrid narratives for the humanities classroom (2006) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Ericson |
Maya Kasandra Soetoro Ng (born August 15, 1970) is an American academic and educator. She works at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also helps the Obama Foundation with its Asia-Pacific Leaders Program. Before this, Soetoro-Ng was a high school history teacher. She is the half-sister of Barack Obama, who was the 44th president of the United States.
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Early Life and Education
Maya Soetoro-Ng was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. Her mother was Ann Dunham, an American anthropologist. Her father was Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian businessman. She had several half-siblings, including Barack Obama. She also had an adoptive sister. Maya Soetoro-Ng was named after the famous American poet Maya Angelou.
Maya and Barack Obama lived together for some years in Indonesia and Hawaii. Later, her mother and Maya moved back to Indonesia. After her parents divorced, her father remarried.
While in Indonesia, Maya was taught at home by her mother. She also attended the Jakarta International School from 1981 to 1984. Like her brother Barack, Maya later moved to Hawaii. She went to the private Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and finished in 1988.
Maya Soetoro-Ng earned her first degree (B.A.) from Barnard College of Columbia University. She then got two master's degrees (M.A.) from New York University. In 2006, she earned her highest degree, a Ph.D., from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her Ph.D. was in international comparative education.
Maya Soetoro-Ng has often spoken about her close relationship with her older brother. Their families often celebrate holidays together in Hawaii.
Career and Work
Maya Soetoro-Ng is a specialist at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. This institute is part of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also works as a consultant for the Obama Foundation. She helps with their Leaders Program for the Asia-Pacific region.
Dr. Soetoro-Ng teaches classes on important topics like Peace Education. She also teaches about the history of peace movements and how to be a leader for social change. She helps college students get real-world experience in peace studies. She also organizes community service programs.
Before her current role, Soetoro-Ng was a professor at the University of Hawai'i. She still does some work to promote understanding between different countries. In 2011, she wrote a children's book called Ladder to the Moon. This book was inspired by her mother and her daughter. She is also working on other books, including one about peace education.
Maya Soetoro-Ng used to be a high school history teacher. She taught at schools in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also taught and created lessons for a middle school in New York City from 1996 to 2000.
In 2009, Maya helped publish her mother's research as a book. It was called Surviving against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia. Maya wrote the introduction for the book.
In 2019, Maya Soetoro-Ng helped start The Peace Studio. This is a non-profit group that helps artists, journalists, and storytellers. Their goal is to inspire people to work for peace.
Research and Peacebuilding
Maya Soetoro-Ng's research for her Ph.D. focused on education in different cultures. She looked at how stories can help people understand identity better in diverse classrooms. She believes in learning history and current events from many different viewpoints.
She has created and taught peace education programs for high school students. She also teaches these programs to K-12 teachers. With a partner, she started a non-profit called Ceeds of Peace. This group connects families, leaders, and teachers to raise new peacebuilding leaders. She also co-founded the Institute for Climate and Peace. This group works for fairness in climate change and helps build peace.
Obama Presidential Campaigns
In May 2007, Maya Soetoro-Ng announced she would help her brother, Barack Obama, in his campaign to become president. She took two months off to support him. She spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. There, she talked about growing up with her brother.
She also spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. She talked about the good things the Obama administration had done. She shared the stage with Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson.
Personal Life
In 2003, Maya Soetoro married Konrad Ng. He is a Chinese Canadian from Ontario, Canada. Konrad Ng is now a U.S. citizen. He used to be the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. He was also a professor at the University of Hawaii. Now, he is the executive director of the Doris Duke Shangri La Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Maya and Konrad have two daughters named Suhaila and Savita.
Maya Soetoro-Ng has said she is "philosophically Buddhist." She can speak Indonesian, Spanish, and English.
See also
