Maya Yette, Operations & Project Manager
Maya Yette, Operations & Project Manager
In this episode, Maya talks to Katherine about her evolving career on two separate occasions, once in 2017 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and again in 2019 over Zoom.
We discussed her time in law school and her experiences working in corporate law. After 3 years at a DC-based firm, she decided that she was ready to try something new. So in 2016, Maya went on Remote Year and began searching for remote work opportunities while traveling.
Maya found a job with boutique travel company Travel Noire, where she helped curate immersive international travel experiences for travelers of color. Maya discussed how race can shape travelers’ experiences and how Travel Noire works to help create safe, inclusive, and empowering expeditions for folks of color.
In 2019, Maya and Katherine caught up to chat about how things in her life had changed since the end of Remote Year in 2017. After a few months of traveling, Maya moved back to DC and started a job at her current company, Choice Hotels, where she worked as a project manager in the Business Transformation Office. In the BTO, Maya’s role was to be an objective connection point for the organization and bring together cross functional experts to solve problems. (Maya is now their Senior Extended Stay Brand Manager.)
Maya Yette
Maya Yette is a recovering lawyer turned operations and strategy professional. She grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. and has never been able to say “no” to a trip, whether it's to New York for the weekend or around the world for a year. With a background in communications and journalism, Maya loves to hear, and tell, a good story. You can see her photographs and read about her adventures on her website.
Show Notes
Education
Wake Forest University, 2009
Bachelor's in Communications
Spanish and International Studies Double Minor
Harvard Law School, 2012
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
National Black Law Students Association
Director of International Relations (2010-2011)
Harvard Black Law Students Association (Community Service Committee Co-Chair; Africa Summit 2010, Member of Student Delegation to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
Career
Staff Writer, Black Enterprise
Summer Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP
Summer Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Corporate Attorney, Covington & Burling LLP (2012 - 2016)
Traveled with Remote Year’s second group, Battuta (2016)
Operations Associate, Travel Noire (2016 - 2017)
Project Manager, Business Transformation Office, Choice Hotels International (2018 - 2020)
Senior Extended Stay Brand Manager, Choice Hotels International (since 2020)
Folding Chair Weekly
Maya and her childhood friends developed a passion project: Folding Chair Weekly, a newsletter that aims to “create community wherever we sit.” The weekly newsletter shares distilled down information on current news, content, and information.
In particular, Folding Chair Weekly aims to foster conversations among the BIPOC and discuss how current events are impacting them specifically.
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm famously said “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Well, we’ve got our chair ready. There are so many stories that we feel are underreported and that need to be shared. We want to explain how certain events and policies will have an impact on black lives. Through the weekly Folding Chair newsletter, we’re talking about the stories that matter most to us, and we hope, to you.
The Modern Work podcast is produced by Conaway Creative. The team behind this episode:
Hosted & directed by Katherine Conaway
Editing & sound by Charlotte Oakley
Social media by Kelly Becker
You can support Modern Work financially via Patreon, by spreading the word on social, and by writing a review on your favorite podcasting platform. We appreciate it all — thank you!
