Maia Sharpley

Maia Sharpley is the Founder and Managing Partner of Odonata Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in revolutionary technology-enabled education companies, and creating a significant impact at scale – human impact and market-leading returns. She has been at the forefront of innovation within the education, EdTech, venture and startup ecosystems since the initial days of education reform. Companies that she has sourced and invested in are returning IRRs of 30-65%+.Prior to Odonata she co-founded and was Managing Partner of Juvo Ventures sourcing investments such as Eduvanz, SchooLinks, RideAlong, Talyena, Stride, SV Academy, BrightHive, New Campus and Engen among others. Maia got her start in venture as a Partner at Learn Capital and was previously the Executive Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives for Charter Schools USA, responsible for developing innovative EdTech solutions and new capabilities within the organization as well as overseeing marketing. She also served as Corporate Vice President for Strategy and Innovation with Kaplan, Inc. where she led a broad range of strategic initiatives, oversaw the company’s EdTech portfolio and built multiple global businesses.Maia is a Founder of the non-profit, Innovation for Equity, that brings together inspiring leaders from across the education and workforce sector to disrupt the status quo and improve outcomes for Black learners of all ages.A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT, Maia earned her MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and is a Kauffman Fellow.