Richmond, VA 1973

Maia Kersti Linask was born on May 26, 1973 in Connecticut and currently resides in Richmond, VA. She earned her B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University in 1995, her M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) in 2005, and her Ph.D. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2012. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Richmond. She has previously been an active member of many Estonian organizations, including the Connecticut folkdance group Jaanik, the Washington folkdance group Pillerkaar, and the Connecticut Estonian Society. She has been a representative to the Estonian American National Council (EANC) since 2010, and has also served on the Estonian World Council.

I would like to continue to represent the needs and perspectives of younger generations in EANC, to connect Estonians who live in places without a large community of Estonian Americans, and to continue to support and strengthen the Estonian American National Council as an organization. I wish to continue to actively work toward EANC’s goals of supporting the activities and interaction of Estonian American organizations, introducing the country and culture of Estonia to a broader audience, and helping sustain Estonia’s well-being and security. I would like to carry on with the work of inviting all Estonian-Americans and Estophiles to participate in EANC and the Estonian community.
I have participated in all annual meetings and other work of the organization (2012-2021) with the exception of 2018, when the annual meeting took place 2 weeks after the birth of our daughter.

I have been an active EANC Board member since 2012, a member of the Strategy Committee, and Chair of the Strategy Committee from 2014-2018. I have also either directed or been an active participant in many other activities, including strategic planning, website redesign, planning our first virtual Estonian Independence Day celebration, establishing the EANC Visnapuu Award for Estonian Arts and Letters, and revising the EANC Bylaws. I´ve been an EANC delegate to the Estonian World Council.

Olen 2012. a. saadik olnud aktiivne ERKÜ juhatuse liige, 2013 a. saadik strateegiakomittee liige, 2014-2018. a. ERKÜ strateegiakomitee juhataja. Olen osalenud või juhatanud palju ERKÜ tegevusi, k.a strateegia kavandamine, veebilehe ümberkujundamine, virtuaalse Vabariigi Aastapäeva planeerimine, ERKÜ Visnapuu auhinna läbi viimine ja ERKÜ kodukorra revideerimine. Olen olnud ERKÜ esindaja Ülemaailmses Eesti Kesknõukogus (ÜEKNis).