Maiya May

Nature’s Narrator: How Maiya May Found Her Voice in Climate Science

Maiya May is a Science Communicator and TV show host whose passion is helping everyone understand the complicated world of nature, weather, and climate science. She hosts a popular PBS show called Weathered, which breaks down natural disasters and the science behind our climate in a way that’s easy to grasp. Maiya believes that when people “know better, they do better,” and her main mission is to make important science accessible to everyone.

From Aspiring Actress to Science Star

Maiya’s journey to becoming a science communicator is an inspiring story of following your passions, even when they change. Growing up in Lithonia, GA, right next to the Davidson Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, she spent her childhood exploring the outdoors and fell in love with nature.

However, in high school, she initially dreamed of being an actress and being on TV. Her parents wanted her to go to college, so she thought, “What can I major in that will let me be on TV?” She found the answer in journalism, and she enrolled at the University of Missouri.

It was in a journalism class that everything changed. Someone wrote about meteorology (the science of weather), and it was a moment of realization—an epiphany—that this was what she was truly meant to do! The next day, she switched her major to atmospheric science and geography. She immediately sought out an internship with the local meteorologist, and her new career path began.

Finding Her Purpose

After several internships, Maiya decided that being a traditional broadcast meteorologist wasn’t quite the right fit. While exploring nature in Missouri, she had noticed a lack of diversity, rarely seeing other people who looked like her enjoying state and national parks. This observation inspired a new goal: to create content that would encourage more Black people and minorities to explore and connect with the natural world.

Her goal became making documentaries about weather and climate. It was tough—she self-funded her first few short videos while working two jobs and living at home. She faced huge setbacks, including once losing all her footage from a major trip. But Maiya never gave up. She kept going, fueled by the belief that you have to “keep going even when it’s hard.”

In 2020, after creating a detailed plan for a climate project, she took a chance and tweeted it out. The tweet went viral and got the attention of PBS. While the original large-scale project didn’t work out, a few months later, PBS came back and offered her the host position for Weathered. The show was initially a web series, but because of its huge success, it was developed into a “real” TV series, which Maiya considers her biggest accomplishment so far. She also just started hosting a new history show for GPB called Marked about Georgia’s historical markers.

The Importance of Authenticity and Knowledge

Maiya emphasizes that science communication is an art. It’s challenging to take complex scientific concepts, especially those surrounding the climate crisis, and explain them without using confusing jargon. Her ultimate goal isn’t to solve climate change herself, but to equip the public with the base level knowledge needed to understand the problem and make informed decisions, at the polls and in their daily lives.

As a Black woman working in the climate space, Maiya is aware that she inspires others, and she takes that responsibility seriously. She wants to be a role model and use her platforms, including social media, to reach people who might not typically watch a PBS science show. She encourages students to “be as curious as possible,” to realize that “being smart is cool,” and to lean in more when things get difficult—it’s the key to overcoming challenges both in the classroom and in life.