Hey there, I’m Maya White.

A cultural worker, sigh guide, and community researcher based in Louisville, Kentucky. Also, owner and Leader of Harvey & Hurston.

Familial roots byway of Mississippi and Kentucky. I love my hometown Louisville, KY - the place, people, stories and lineages that passed through to get to the Ohio River’s southern edge.

I am rooted and work with the foundation of Sankofa [to fetch back and get it, Akan] to problem solve, imagine strategy and resist with joy.

I enjoy being a student. I graduated from University of Louisville ‘17 (BA) and Georgia State University ‘20 (MA) studying Sociology, Pan-African studies, Women and Gender Studies, and secondary education curriculum development. My previous work includes cooperative economic justice models, research development for guaranteed income programming, co-curating community learning spaces, and Black liberation healing practices.

My favorite projects have been rooted in Black youth, resident community-leadership, and economic upliftment for neighborhoods experiencing gentrification in my hometown. These programs are Girls League of the West, Russell Partnership Pledge, Black Lou Coffee Week and YALift!. My career is connected to organizations like Cities United and Russell: A Place of Promise, Louisville Urban League, Louisville Public Health and Wellness Center for Health Equity, Black Feminist Future, Social Justice Youth Development Coalition and their partners.

Currently, I am a consultant for BKP Strategies -researching for health equity storytelling projects, directing membership programs for Social Justice Youth Development Coalition, Coalition buiding for BLACK KY, and teaching weekly restorative yoga at a local studio.

Who is Harvey and Hurston?

Harvey and Hurston is named after my North Stars. My grandmother, Benetha “Harvey” Ellis, local organizer and civil servant of Louisville, KY and Zora Neale Hurston, infamous anthropologist and researcher rooted in Black Southern folklore and spirituality.