Johanna Maes headshot
Director, Multicultural Leadership Scholars Program • Director, Master of Arts in Higher Education Program
CU Engage | School of Education

Dr. Johanna B. Maes (she/her/hers) has twenty-five years of experience in the non-profit sector, k-12, and in higher education. She has developed, implemented, and evaluated innovative curricula, experiential educational initiatives and trainings that focus on multiculturalism, inclusivity, gender bias, and culturally competent teaching methods for audiences ranging from k-12 and university students, to nonprofit and business executives, to school administrators.

Dr. Maes is a graduate of two of the nation’s leading leadership development institutes- Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Executive Leadership Program and the Center for Creative Leadership Executive Leadership Program.

In addition to serving as an Independent Education Consultant, Dr. Maes serves as the Director of the Master of Arts in Higher Education Program at the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Education. She is also Senior Instructor in the School’s Multicultural Leadership Scholars Program.

Dr. Maes has co-authored a number of academic articles relating to issues of education inclusivity, transformational leadership, women in leadership, action research methods, and Latina academic achievement. Dr. Maes is co-editor of the book Journeys of Social Justice: Women of Color Presidents in the Academy (Peter Lang International Academic Publishers), released in 2017. She is also co-editor of the book Case Studies in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education: An Intersectional Perspective (Kendall Hunt Publishers), released in 2020.

As a formally trained journalist, who received her Bachelor of Science degree through the University of Colorado School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Dr. Maes has been a columnist/journalist for The Denver Post and the Boulder Daily Camera.

Dr. Maes received her Master’s Degree in Multicultural Education from Regis University and a Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University.