This Egyptologist is joining our team to support and equip sites across the Documenters Network.

By Anastazia Vanisko

Portrait by Caroline Olsen

We’re so excited to welcome Maja to the team as City Bureau’s new Documenters Network Coordinator!

Maja’s previous experience in academia informs her approach to resource and program creation with stakeholders at the forefront. Based in Chicago, Maja draws upon her background in anthropology to understand and develop connections and community.

We asked Maja to share a little bit about her experiences, her background, and what she’s bringing to the role. Here are some of the highlights, edited for length and clarity.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CONNECTION TO CHICAGO, THE CITY YOU CALL HOME.

I grew up in the tri-state area of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, in Dubuque, Iowa. We would take trips to Chicago and just pop in for a weekend or spend Christmases and Thanksgivings here. We’d come visit in the summer and walk around Millennium Park and see the buildings with the faces that spit water. I always loved the museums, so the Field Museum was a place where I just felt at peace. When I was in college, I studied anthropology and museum studies and had a summer internship at the Field Museum working in their exhibits department. I lived in Chicago that summer with one of my good friends and got a taste of city life. I had previously lived in Michigan at Michigan State University in East Lansing, and had seen people in the world who are different and creative and doing amazing things. So being in Chicago, where you can ride the bus for 45 minutes and pass through so many different cultural zones, was just so exciting to me.

When I was in Chicago for my internship, I popped over to Andersonville and the Swedish American Museum, which hosts a Midsommarfest. That was just amazing to me, as a Swede, to see the celebration of my culture so out in the open. I went back to Iowa, finished college, and then came to Chicago for graduate school at the University of Chicago. I chose to study Egyptology because I love the movie The Mummy with Brendan Fraser. I lived in Hyde Park when I first moved here, and I enjoyed that connection to campus life but knew that Andersonville was a place I could call home. I eventually moved back up here, and I've been in Andersonville now for five and a half years, and lived in the city for seven years total. I just love it. There's always so much to do. There's always some sort of festival going on or some way to interact with people who are living their best lives. There are so many small businesses,cultural festivals, museums, and places to go to always keep bettering myself and my understanding of the world.

YOU PREVIOUSLY WORKED IN ACADEMIA, CREATING ESSENTIAL RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS FOR THE PEOPLE YOU WORKED WITH, AND HAVE SHIFTED TO BUILDING COMMUNITY WITHIN THE DOCUMENTERS NETWORK. TELL US ABOUT YOUR PATH THROUGH THESE ROLES.

I come from a long line of teachers and academics. My mom's side of the family have all been elementary school teachers, and my dad has worked in academia for his whole career, so I grew up in that sphere and found myself in it. I think a lot of that had to do with turbulence and instability in the museum world; it's not always the easiest to find a job there and there’s a lot of training and experience needed, so I couldn't necessarily fulfill that journey, but I really loved working with the people. I think that's what all my work centers on–what do people need? What concerns are they voicing and what are the actionable things that I can do to make a difference there? Like with students–if they aren't able to reach a faculty member and they're having trouble getting their dissertation done because of that, what intervention can I make so that the faculty member is more receptive to communication? What can I facilitate via Zoom or email or phone call to make sure that those connections are happening? 

I’m really motivated by hearing someone’s first concern that “this isn't working” and then running with a couple ideas on how we can make it work better. That's something that I'm excited about: to work with sites and Documenters to figure out what we can offer, what we can do better. What can we provide so that everyone is feeling fulfilled in what they're doing?

WHAT DREW YOU TO BUILDING WITH CITY BUREAU AND THE DOCUMENTERS NETWORK? 

A lot of it is the environment that we currently live in, where there is just such divisive news all around us. Depending on who you talk to, this news could be correct, or that news could be correct, or maybe both of them have a kernel of truth, but no one is really telling you what's happening. Knowing that there are Documenters on the ground at meetings, recording what is taking place and writing it up, and then their notes are disseminated–you're able to get that boots on the ground knowledge of “this is what's happening and this is how it impacts you.” It’s so cool to be able to see that people are taking an active interest in their local government. Something I feel very passionately about is that local governmental elections are just as important as the national ones. I love being able to get involved in the local sphere of an alderperson who can do something that will totally change the character of a neighborhood and being able to have a say in what's happening there–Documenters make that more transparent. 

HOW DO YOU APPROACH YOUR WORK AS A DOCUMENTERS NETWORK COORDINATOR?

I try to approach my work with intentionality. If there are sites who want to brainstorm ways that they can be innovative, I channel my energy into offering up that space to be able to listen and give suggestions to develop things, or planning out the best ways to organize different field trips or Communities of Practice for Documenters. I love hearing those ideas and then providing any input that I can. It’s so important to be receptive to everyone who is out there working and those who have the best knowledge of that sphere. There are no wrong answers; there are just ways that we can all continue to improve ourselves and work together to make that happen.

HOW DO YOU STAY GROUNDED IN YOUR WORK?

One of the big things for me is recognizing the impact. So while I’m in the role, I may be communicating mainly with site staff and then with Documenters as different events pop up. The wider community members are who we’re ultimately focusing on, as they’re the ones who will be most impacted by all of this work. Remembering that I may be in a Zoom meeting, but the outcome of this Zoom meeting is hopefully going to positively impact a large portion of people, is a way to think back, reflect, and say, “Well, this is really cool.”

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

I wish that I had been a Documenter a lot sooner because, in this role as coordinator, it’s so cool to see how Documenters are interacting with government processes, with each other, and with other interesting civic places. Knowing that there are field trips to city halls and state chambers–and that there are all of these ways to be civically minded–I think that would’ve been really fascinating to have been involved with on the documenting side of things.

To connect with Maja, feel free to reach out at maja@citybureau.org.