Maia Ferdman
Founder and Principal, Bridges Intergroup Relations Consulting; Program Manager, UCLA Initiative to Study Hate
2023
Maia Ferdman is the founder and principal of Bridges Intergroup Relations Consulting, which supports organizations and communities to build vibrant spaces of belonging – spaces celebrating our complex identities, proactively exploring our differences, and building resilient relationships between groups. Through this work Maia has developed numerous interfaith programs, trained government and nonprofit groups in cultural competency, and facilitated conversations across differences about policing, homelessness, Israel-Palestine, and more. Maia is also the Assistant Director of the University of California Los Angeles Luskin Center for History and Policy. She supports the center’s research and programming and produces the bi-weekly podcast “Then & Now.” She previously staffed The City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission.
Maia loves studying and is a product of globalization; she is a Jewish Argentinian Southern Californian who has lived in Bulgaria and spent extensive time in India and Israel. She received her B.A. in Global Studies and M.A. in Latin American Studies from UCLA.
The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
