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.
Early life and education
Kornberg is originally from Northern California. She is the daughter of Roger D. Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Chemistry, and the granddaughter of Arthur Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Medicine.
As a student at Stanford University in 2013, she received a fellowship award to study in Israel for the summer. She had previously studied for a year at the Nahshon academy at Kibbutz Shoval in the northern Negev, where she started an environmental initiative mobilizing pre-military academies to lobby the Knesset. Kornberg's commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, CSPAN, and Newsweek, and her work has been cited in , Bloomberg News, and MSNBC.
in 2023, Kornberg published the book Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking, in which she argues for the importance of Congressional committees and calls for reinvigorating committee procedures to make Congress more effective. 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.
2025 New York City Council campaign
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. She views Hanif as prone to protest moves and political posturing rather than forming relationships to accomplish goals.
She opted into NYC public financing and, as of the end of the campaign, it was funded by 604 donors, with an average donation of $161. 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. 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 Republicans in the past. 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.
Personal life
Kornberg is a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, living in the borough for more than six years. She has a son. In addition to English, Kornberg speaks Arabic and Hebrew.<ref name="Bellafante-2025" />
Early life and education
Kornberg is originally from Northern California. She is the daughter of Roger D. Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Chemistry, and the granddaughter of Arthur Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Medicine.
As a student at Stanford University in 2013, she received a fellowship award to study in Israel for the summer. She had previously studied for a year at the Nahshon academy at Kibbutz Shoval in the northern Negev, where she started an environmental initiative mobilizing pre-military academies to lobby the Knesset. Kornberg's commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, CSPAN, and Newsweek, and her work has been cited in , Bloomberg News, and MSNBC.
in 2023, Kornberg published the book Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking, in which she argues for the importance of Congressional committees and calls for reinvigorating committee procedures to make Congress more effective. 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.
2025 New York City Council campaign
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. She views Hanif as prone to protest moves and political posturing rather than forming relationships to accomplish goals.
She opted into NYC public financing and, as of the end of the campaign, it was funded by 604 donors, with an average donation of $161. 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. 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 Republicans in the past. 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.
Personal life
Kornberg is a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, living in the borough for more than six years. She has a son. In addition to English, Kornberg speaks Arabic and Hebrew.<ref name="Bellafante-2025" />
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