Maya Buenaventura is a policy researcher at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She employs quantitative and qualitative methods on a variety of projects, including program evaluation and empirical legal studies. She is a member of the Homelessness Policy Research Institute. Prior to RAND, she was a senior research manager at the California Policy Lab at UCLA where she led a portfolio of homelessness prevention projects. She has served as a Los Angeles County Management Fellow for the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs where she designed and implemented programs to address complex policy issues such as high-cost loans and legalization of street vending. During her previous tenure at RAND as a Ph.D. candidate and assistant policy researcher, she performed evaluations of indigent defense systems and programs that serve children and families, justice-involved individuals, and individuals experiencing homelessness. She also worked on projects that explored legal and policy implications of autonomous vehicle technology, workforce collaboration between the United States Air Force and commercial airlines, and purchased care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to her public policy career, she spent seven years as litigator handling defense of consumer finance and product liability matters. She represented asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, and victims of domestic abuse in immigration court on a pro bono basis. She has also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. She received her J.D. from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in public policy from the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
J.D. in law, Northwestern University; Ph.D. in public policy, Pardee RAND Graduate School; B.A. in economics, Oglethorpe University
