Meet Maya

Virtual Ground is a video production project by Maya, a videographer/producer based in Oakland, California with a diverse background in journalism, communications, web content management, video production, storytelling, social media, crowdfunding, and outreach.

Maya dove into video production as editorial assistant at Time Magazine 10+ years ago, assisting the Time video team on field shoots and on set. Since then, she’s produced, filmed, and/or edited a range of short web videos for a variety of organizations, documenting social, environmental, and food justice work, architectural firm work, weddings, legal depositions, conferences, campaigns, direct actions, and more.

Maya currently works as Outreach Coordinator for the award-winning feature documentary No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics (2021), and worked as Associate Producer on the award-winning feature documentary Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (2018). She has also produced, directed, researched, transcribed, crowdfunded, and assisted on set (camera op, boom, PA) for various projects with independent filmmakers and production companies, including the WaterBear Network, Florentino Films, North Shore Productions, Chain Camera Pictures, Plumbago Productions, Beyond Pix Studios, Fantasy Sounds & Event Services (wedding videography), ZD Films, Hidden Heart Film (2018) and Regarding Susan Sontag (2014).

Maya recently moved back to the Bay Area after living nine years in Amsterdam and London. She’s based in a tiny dwelling in a vibrant, community space, tapped into conversations around racial and social justice, regenerative land use, and food and climate activism, and ever-exploring the art of video storytelling.

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Contact: maya@virtualground.org

Testimonials

“I cannot say enough good things about Maya. She was our wedding videographer and not only did she do a beautiful job of capturing the essence of our wedding, she was also such a pleasure to have around throughout the process. Her prices were more than fair, she is very communicative, and her warm and fun presence was a welcome addition to our celebration.
When my brother died a few months after the wedding, Maya put together a memorial video of him that my family will treasure forever. We are so grateful to her for capturing our day in such an authentic and beautiful way.”
- Sarah, Bride

Testimonial Logos

"From the time we first connected through video wrap-up, Maya was flexible and accommodating to our needs. She walked us through lighting issues and was patient as we dealt with event layout issues. The end product was perfect, exactly what we were looking for. We highly recommend Maya and wish that we were based in SF so that we could hire her for all of our events!"

Lynne V. Hernandez
Director of Events & Operations
The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation

"Maya has been a delight to work with, and has captured our stories in the short films she has helped us to write, film and edit. She always seems to understand what we are looking for and when even we don’t know, she is full of creative ideas.”

Sarah Williams
Programme Director, Sustain
(London Food Link)

"Maya is a great collaborator and an incredibly valuable team member. She is creative, insightful, and committed to her work. Maya has a passion for storytelling and has the drive it takes to execute a creative vision on time, while meeting high standards."

Rebecca Eiseman
Development and Programs Associate
Urban Sprouts

"Maya is a creative and talented videographer with a keen eye for detail, a knack for storytelling and a compassion for others that makes her a true pleasure to work with. Maya was able to easily transform our vision into reality. She is well organized, an excellent communicator, and able to prioritize and manage her time effectively. I would absolutely recommend Maya for any videography or video editing project."

Monica Ruck
Project Associate
Plant Exchange