Biography

As Chief of Staff (COS) to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) at Howard University, Mai brings over a decade of experience in leadership and higher education. She specializes in strategic initiatives, institutional assessment and accreditation processes, performance optimization, and operational management. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts and her Master of Education in Educational Psychology - Applied Developmental Science from the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. Her research interests include the educational experiences and motivational factors of Asian American students, collegiate mentorship, and pedagogical assessment. In addition to her scholarly work, she is a fine artist who creates large-scale, vibrant paintings that capture the nuances of lived experience. 

Prior to her work in COAS, she was a trusted thought partner to executives in the Office of Institutional Research and Planning and the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty in the Division of Academic Affairs at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Along with her work in higher education, she was an executive leader for the Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (MAUVSA), a 501(c)3 non-profit, dedicated to outreach and service to support education and empowerment in the Vietnamese community. Guided by a commitment to excellence in truth and service, Mai works to foster an environment where faculty, students, and staff can thrive. She believes that a community’s strength is rooted in the success of its people and has devoted her work to nurturing that growth.