Maya Gilliss-Chapman
Maya Gilliss-Chapman is a Cambodian-American social entrepreneur and startup advisor. She is currently the founder and CEO of Cambodians in Tech, a 501 nonprofit based in Silicon Valley, California. She was Cambodia's representative in international beauty pageants between 2016 and 2017.
Gilliss-Chapman was born in the Kandal Province of Cambodia. She was brought to the capital city of Phnom Penh as an orphan. The circumstances around her transport from Kandal to Phnom Penh remain unknown. She was brought to the United States in 1991 and resided in the city of Oakland, California.
Education
Maya attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a B.A. in Legal Studies.
Career
Gilliss-Chapman is a technology analyst focusing on emerging markets and sporting technology. After working in Silicon Valley, Gilliss-Chapman returned to Cambodia to help develop the Cambodian technology sector. Later, she broadened her focus to the greater Southeast Asian region.
Cambodians in Tech
In 2014, Gilliss-Chapman founded Cambodians in Tech to help Cambodian refugees obtain jobs in the technology industry. It was considered the first worldwide technology movement for Cambodians. In 2016, Cambodians in Tech became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Film
In 2019, Gilliss-Chapman was cast as Peuv in the English version of Funan which was sold to Netflix. In 2020, the English-dub version of Funan was released on Netflix.