Maya Kornberg

Maya Kornberg (born 1991) is an American political scientist and commentator. A senior research fellow and manager in the Brennan Center's Elections and Government Program, she is the author of Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking, published by Columbia University Press. In 2025, Kornberg ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif in New York City's 39th City Council district.

Kornberg is originally from Northern California.^[1] She is the daughter of Roger D. Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Chemistry, and the granddaughter of Arthur Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Medicine.^[2][3]

As a student at Stanford University in 2013, she received a fellowship award to study in Israel for the summer.^[4]

She received a BA from Stanford University, an MPA from Columbia University and a PhD from Oxford University.^[5]

Kornberg is Senior Research Fellow and Manager at the NYU Brennan Center for Justice, where her research focuses on information and disinformation in politics, democratic governance, and political violence.^[6][1] She has worked on democratic governance issues at several organizations and institutions. She has held positions at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), NYU Govlab, and Public Agenda. Kornberg has also taught undergraduate and graduate political science courses at NYU, Georgetown, Oxford, and American University.^[5][7] Kornberg's commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, CSPAN, and Newsweek, and her work has been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and MSNBC.^[8]

in 2023, Kornberg published the book Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking,^[5][9] in which she argues for the importance of Congressional committees and calls for reinvigorating committee procedures to make Congress more effective.^[10][11] Although she initially did not intend to focus on gender in her research, she realized that women in Congress are not only underrepresented but also lack influence, with limited opportunities for committee leadership roles.^[12]

On December 3, 2024, Kornberg announced her intention to run for the New York City's 39th City Council district seat against the incumbent, Shahana Hanif in the June 2025 Democratic primary.^[13][7]

She calls herself a "pragmatic progressive" and has expressed that education, health care, transportation, and affordable housing are the issues she sees as important.^[1][14] She views Hanif as prone to protest moves and political posturing rather than forming relationships to accomplish goals.^{[1] [1][15]}

She opted into NYC public financing and, as of March 6, 2025, her campaign was funded by nearly 600 donors, with 90% donating $175 or less, and about half from district 39 (numbers almost identical to Hanif).^[1][16] Her campaign has received support from public figures including Leonard Stern, Alice Tisch, Daniel S. Loeb, and Len Blavatnik, who donated the maximum for council campaigns, $1,050.^[17][18] A local progressive group, Indivisible Brooklyn, which endorsed Hanif, criticized Kornberg's acceptance of money from two donors, Loeb and Blavatnik who have also significantly supported many candidates from both parties in the past, even though Hanif was supported by Mark Gorton, who donated $1 million to Robert F. Kennedy Jr for President.^[18]

Kornberg was the only candidate in the race to call for no outside spending, but nevertheless several PACs spent on the race (on either side). These include real estate groups like Abundant NY,^[19] the Madison Square Garden and James L. Dolan-backed Coalition to Restore New York, and an Uber-funded PAC, which Hanif attributes to her own advocacy for gig workers.^[6] Uber spent on many races in that cycle, including on behalf of many candidates who supported gig workers.

On the night of the primary, with more than 90% of votes counted, Kornberg lost the primary, but won nearly 12,000 votes.^[20]

Kornberg is a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, living in the borough for more than six years.^[1][21] She has a son.^[22] In addition to English, Kornberg speaks Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew.^[15]

• Professional website
• Campaign website