Washington, DC & Carlisle, PA
Maia Comeau Bio
Maia Comeau is a Government and public affairs leader with over 20 years of experience in international government affairs strategy, institution building, leadership development and event planning in Washington, DC. Maia served for twelve years at the German Marshall Fund of the United States where she founded both the Congressional Affairs department, in 2004, and the Richard G. Lugar Institute for Diplomacy and Congress in 2013. Under her leadership, the congressional affairs department grew to include seven professional staff, with an operating budget of 1.2 million. The department handled a variety of programs designed to educate Congress on transatlantic policy. She regularly visited Europe on issue focused study tours and was a key member of GMF’s senior external relations team working on fundraising, communications, and major conferences. In addition to her role as Director of Congressional Affairs, she founded, in 2013, the Richard G. Lugar Institute for Diplomacy and Congress which worked to build bridges between foreign diplomats and the US Congress. While at GMF, Ms. Comeau spearheaded an organization wide effort to develop diversity and inclusion best practice policies, including the creation of the first affinity group on women and leadership which offered professional development and mentoring opportunities for GMF employees.
She is graduate of the 2016 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars, led by President’s Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. She has been awarded fellowships with the Bucerius Young Leader Summer School on Global Governance; American Council on Germany; the Draeger Foundation; and, the American Israel Education Foundation. She currently serves on the Board of IMMAP; The National Civic League; The Interactivity Foundation. She is a Senior Fellow with The Ohio State University; the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. and The Lugar Center. She is also the Co-Founder of Keepers of the Commons.
Her first career was as a professional ballet dancer culminating with a stint with Complexions Dance Company in New York. She is the proud owner of a historic farm in central Pennsylvania where she is collecting a barnful of animals and tools.