Dr Maya Ahmed was born in 1968 and grew up in Mumbai, India. She earned her first master's degree in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. She simultaneously earned a diploma in Journalism and communications from the Mumbai University. She moved to the United States of America with her husband Mohsin Ahmed and earned a second masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Washington, Seattle and a Phd in Mathematics from the University of California, Davis. Though mathematics remains her primary pursuit, writing is among her many interests which include teaching, engineering, sculpture, cooking, and nature.