Personal Information

Maureen was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Lagos State University, then moved to the United States where she obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology (Genetics minor) from Indiana University Bloomington. Following her Ph.D., Maureen began her industry career as a Research Scientist at Corteva Agriscience – first supporting herbicide tolerance gene discovery efforts, then leading discovery assessment teams for early-stage crop genome engineering projects. While in the lab, she passionately pursued her long-held interest in people and organizational development. In 2023, she transitioned to lead talent development for Biotechnology R&D at Corteva, where she developed and executed talent recruitment, hiring, onboarding, learning and development, and engagement strategies, supporting over 700 scientists and employees. Today, Maureen serves as the Director of Organizational Learning at WesleyLife, a healthcare non-profit revolutionizing the experience of aging. Maureen is passionate about unlocking human potential and organizational success through people-centric and empathetic leadership, and she regularly advocates for cultural competency, inclusion, and belonging in academic, corporate, and non-profit spaces. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her husband and their dog.