Maia Heyck-Merlin is the founder and CEO of The Together Group, a business focused on training educators on topics such as time management, prioritization, organization, and efficiency. Her clients include many leading charter operators, large traditional school districts, and innovative education nonprofits. Before becoming a full-time entrepreneur in 2013, she served as chief talent and operating officer for Achievement First for five years, where she oversaw human capital, operations, recruitment, leadership development, and evaluation of school leaders and teachers.

Prior to joining Achievement First, she worked at Teach For America in a variety of capacities. Maia began as a 1999 corps member in South Louisiana, where she taught fourth grade for two years and was named Teacher of the Year at her placement site. Following her TFA commitment, she went on to teach fifth grade at Children's Charter School and direct Teach Baton Rouge's first summer training institute for TNTP. In 2002, Maia returned to Teach For America as the executive director in South Louisiana, overseeing programmatic efforts for a corps that had doubled in size. She then served for three years as the Houston institute director, leading training and development for the incoming corps. In her last role at Teach For America, Maia founded and led the national institute operations team, which managed national operations for all five summer training institutes.

Maia has also authored The Together Teacher: Plan Ahead, Get Organized, and Save Time. She grew up in rural Maine and holds a BA in child development from Tufts University. She lives in the Washington, DC, area, with her husband Jack, their two young children, and two unruly cats. In her free time, she trains for (short) triathlons and tries to figure out how to make green smoothies that actually taste delicious. You can reach out to Maia directly via The Together Group's website, www.thetogethergroup.com.