Maya McHenry

Maya McHenry is a multi-talented creative and is heavily skilled in the PR + talent space as well as, event planning, production, social curation, brand consulting and partnerships. She has consulted with her mother with many companies, where they help fashion and skincare brands with PR gifting, producing, live events, talent management, casting, social media and exposing brands to different talent. Currently, she is the Brand Partnership coordinator for Skai Blue Media, a full service multimedia communications and marketing agency. She has consulted and worked with the PR teams for Karla Otto, Versace, Pattern Beauty, Nike, Matte Projects, Solid & Striped, Dove, Malin + Goetz, Jordan, Jumpman 23 Women’s Collective, Laquan Smith, Dolce & Gabbana, Nylon Magazine, Beauty Blender, CR Fashion Book, Galore, Teen Vogue, Retrouvé Skincare, Brown Girl Jane, Verizon Media, YourMomCares and others. She sits on the board of The Endometriosis Foundation of America and Raise Fashion Now. Maya creates visually and emotionally engaging narratives and content. She specializes in emotional digital storytelling and casting people who usually aren’t highlighted to change the way society looks at beauty. Additionally, she’s consulted by giving talks at schools and participating in mentorship programs for young underserved girls. Previously, Maya was also the co producer, creator and casting director for Retrouve skin’s Instagram live show, Every Skin Has A Story, a conversation series that centered around racial justice as it relates to beauty, skincare, and building an expansive and inclusive community. The series began in July 2020 and included influential makeup artists, authors, speakers, activists, models, actors of color and people of influence within the beauty space. The show was meant to connect Retrouvé’s existing audience with the company’s commitment to equity and inclusion while expanding the brand’s presence to new audiences. In addition to her corporate experience, she is the Founder of The Lyric McHenry Community Arts Fellowship, a scholarship fund at Stanford dedicated to her sister, for students who want to participate in an internship over the summer that relates to racial and social justice.
The Lyric McHenry Community Arts Fellowship (CAF), at the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, offers undergraduate students a unique, summer learning opportunity that merges artistic practice with social justice research. The fellowship supports six undergraduate students annually across all majors, and aims to enhance their academic journey by embedding them in community based arts organizations or with established community-based artists where they engage in research and arts practice for 9 weeks during the summer quarter. Projects coming out of this fellowship have distinct interest in questions that further the arts at the intersection of social justice. My sister Lyric, who was my mentor, role mode, and best friend, passed away in 2018. I will always remember her as having the biggest heart and always taking people under her wing. She was great at lifting up people who were usually ignored and would encourage them in whatever way she could.

Lyric was also an aspiring filmmaker and created amazing shows and content for Refinery 29 with her good friend Madison Utendahl, who has become like a big sister and mentor to me. But with all of the accomplishments and opportunities that Lyric got to experience, she also got exposure to the high barriers to entry and the systemic issues that made these opportunities out of reach for so many. She knew that many families didn’t have the financial means to support students in participating in unpaid or low-paid internships across the country or in other countries. She always said to me, “Maya, how are people supposed to get in the door if they can’t even GET to the door?” Lyric felt strongly about this issue but didn’t get a chance to address it in her lifetime.

After she passed away, in the midst of dealing with all the emotions, shock, and trauma that comes with grief and loss, I gathered with my parents and presented the idea to start a fellowship in Lyric’s honor at Stanford, her alma mater. I worked with two of my sister's best friends, Zippy Guerin and Maya Humes, who attended Stanford with her, to create a fund to support young creatives of color in their internship experiences. We partnered with IDA (The Institute for Diversity in the Arts) at Stanford to establish the Lyric McHenry Community Arts Fellowship. The Fellowship gives students the opportunity to spend a summer working full time in the areas of curating, presenting, outreach and/or arts education with a focus on racial/social justice issues. In the past 5 years, we have awarded 26 students with over $223,000 in summer funding. These students have held impactful positions at large arts companies and community-based arts organizations supporting arts at the intersection of social justice. These students have held impactful positions at large arts companies and community-based arts organizations supporting arts at the intersection of social justice.
This past summer, as part of the Community Arts Fellowship, Victor Meza ‘25, a queer Mexican multimedia artist, dedicated their time to archiving and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. Working at the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality, Victor focused on preserving ephemeral artworks along the borderlands between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez where they grew up.
With support from the fellowship, Victor was an apprentice collaborating closely with artist Arantxa Araujo, planning performances confronting the issue of femicide in the borderlands, and supporting community organizations tackling gender-based violence in Latin America. Victor’s work ensures that these vital artistic contributions and community monuments are remembered and preserved. This work is now the basis of their Undergraduate thesis in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with faculty advisor Rose Salseda.

This past summer, with support from the Community Arts Fellowship, Skylar Walker ‘24, a recent graduate in the Art and Art History Department worked alongside renowned Atlanta artist Marina Skye to design and build an immersive art installation in Atlanta's Underground Museum. Skylar is deeply influenced by Atlanta’s rich history of activism and art, and used this opportunity to research socially engaged practices that speak to her identity as a creative from the south.

Through hands-on experience in installation, she collaborated with Marina from the brainstorming stages through to the final creation of a new large-scale public art work. This experience not only strengthened Skylar’s connection to Atlanta’s Black creative community, but also set the stage for her post-graduation life as an emerging artist.

Each Fellow receives a base research stipend to support travel and living expenses during the summer. Financial aid is available to students who qualify.

One of the fellows who we supported during her internship with Disney, is now an executive there. This internship has helped change lives and it's a beautiful feeling to know you’re making a difference in someone's life. Each year we curate an experience to bring the fellows together, find out what they’re up to, and see how we can uplift anything they’re currently working on or passionate about.