From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Soetoro-Ng
See also: Family of Barack Obama 44th and current President of the United States. She was
Maya Soetoro-Ng previously a high school history teacher[3] and university
instructor in Hawaii.
Early life
Soetoro-Ng was born Maya Soetoro to Indonesian busi-
nessman Lolo Soetoro and American cultural anthropolo-
gist Ann Dunham. Her elder half-brother is the 44th Pres-
ident of the United States, Barack Obama. She has said
she was named after American poet Maya Angelou.[4]
Soetoro-Ng and Obama spent several years together
in Indonesia and in Hawaii before her mother decided to
return to Indonesia with her.[3]
After her parents divorced in 1980, her father remar-
ried. From this marriage, Soetoro-Ng has another half-
brother, Yusuf Aji Soetoro (b. 1981), and a half-sister, Ra-
hayu Nurmaida Soetoro (b. 1984).[5]
Maya Soetoro-Ng, 2009
While living in Indonesia, she was home schooled by
her mother and then attended Jakarta International
Born Maya Kassandra Soetoro School from 1981 to 1984.[6] Like her older half-brother,
August 15, 1970 (1970-08-15)
Soetoro-Ng returned to Hawaii and attended the private
Jakarta, Indonesia
Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii,[7] graduating in
Residence Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 1988.[8]
Ethnicity Indonesian-American
She is an alumna of Barnard College in Manhattan,
New York. She received an M.A. degree in secondary lan-
Citizenship American guage studies and an M.A. degree in English from New
Education B.A., M.A., Ph.D York University[9] and a Ph.D degree in international
comparative education from the University of Hawaii.[10]
Alma mater Barnard College, Soetoro-Ng has often spoken warmly about her rela-
New York University,
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
tionship with her older half-brother, which she says has
remained strong even though they have often lived far
Occupation Writer apart. As adults, they have often celebrated Christmas in
Religion Buddhism Hawaii, and savor the time they spend with their families
together.[3]
Spouse Konrad Ng (m. 2003–present)
«start: (2003)»"Marriage: Konrad Ng to Maya
Soetoro-Ng" Location: Career
(linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Maya_Soetoro-Ng) Soetoro-Ng authored a children’s book, Ladder to the
Moon, that was inspired by her mother and her daughter,
Children Suhaila Ng (born 2004)
Savita Ng
Suhaila; it was published in 2011.[11][12]It’s also reported
that she is working on a book about peace education and
Parents Lolo Soetoro and Ann Dunham conflict resolution in high schools.[3]
Signature She was a high-school history teacher at La Pietra:
Hawaii School for Girls and the Education Laboratory
School, both in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also taught night
classes at the University of Hawaii.[13] She previously
Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng (pronounced /ˈmaɪ.ə taught and developed curriculum at The Learning Pro-
suːˈtɔəroʊ ˈɪŋ/;[1] born August 15, 1970 in Jakarta, Indone- ject, an alternative public middle school in New York Ci-
sia[2]) is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, the ty, from 1996–2000.[14]
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maya Soetoro-Ng
Soetoro-Ng has described herself as "philosophically
Buddhist."[18] She is fluent in the Indonesian lan-
guage,[26] Spanish,[27] and English.
Bibliography
• Ladder to the Moon (2011)
• Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck
(2010) – Soetoro-Ng is credited with writing the
foreword
References
[1] YouTube: Barack Obama’s sister Maya explains the
Soetoro-Ng speaks during the first day of the 2008 Democratic Hawaii Caucus.
National Convention in Denver, Colorado. [2] Obama Family Tree dgmweb.net
[3] ^ Swarns, Rachel (July 31, 2009). "Obama and sister
In 2009 Soetoro-Ng helped bring her mother’s disser- to share a town". New York Times.
tation to publication in the form of the book Surviving http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/us/politics/
against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia.[15] She wrote 31sister.html?. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
a foreword to the book and participated in its launch at [4] Clark, Paul C. (September 25, 2008). "Obama’s
the American Anthropological Association annual meet- Better Half Appeals To Women". Rhinoceros Times.
ing. Most recently, she was an Education Specialist at http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-
the East West Center and an Assistant Professor at the i-2008-09-25-185167.112113_Obamas_Better_Half_Appeals_To_Wo
University of Hawai’i College of Education. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
[5] Habib, Ridlwan. "Keluarga Besar Lolo Soetoro,
Research Kerabat Dekat Calon Presiden Amerika/Lolo
Soetoro’s Extended Family, Close Relatives to
Maya’s doctoral research at the University of Hawaii at
American Presidential Nominee". Jawa Pos Daily.
Manoa in Honolulu focused on Comparative Internation-
November 5, 2008 Edition.
al Education, and involved a study comparing an interna-
[6] http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/
tional school in Indonesia where she taught, and a school
Sep/12/ln/hawaii809120379.html
in New York. She particularly looked at qualitative differ-
[7] Half sister launches Hawaii family support for
ences, interviewing students, staff, and other people in-
Obama
volved in the two schools.
[8] Carlyn Tani (Spring 2007). "A kid called Barry:
Obama presidential campaign Barack Obama ’79". Punahou Bulletin. Punahou
School. http://www.punahou.edu/page.cfm?p=601.
In May 2007, Soetoro-Ng announced that she would assist Retrieved March 12, 2009.
Obama in his campaign for president,[16][17] and took two [9] "Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We
months off to campaign for him.[18] Soetoro-Ng partic- Need". Konrad’s Blog. barackobama.com.
ipated in the 2008 Democratic National Convention[19] http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/
where she spoke briefly about growing up with her half- blog/konrad. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
brother and brought an Asian-American presence to the [10] Democratic National Convention 2008, brief bio, [1]
stage.[20] Retrieved Jan 19, 2009
[11] Obama’s Half-Sister to Release Children’s Book NY
Personal Times, April 2, 2009
[12] Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (13 April 2011). "Maya
In 2003[21] Soetoro married Chinese Canadian Konrad Ng
Soetoro-Ng Is the Latest Obama-Family Author".
(Simplified Chinese: 吴加儒)[citation needed] of Burlington,
The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/
Ontario, Canada.[22][23] Her husband, now also a US cit-
2011/04/13/books/maya-soetoro-ng-is-the-latest-
izen,[24] is an assistant professor at the University of
obama-family-author.html. Retrieved 13 April
Hawaii’s Academy of Creative Media.[25] They have two
2011.
daughters, Suhaila[25] and Savita. Konrad Ng became the
[13] "Barack Obama’s Sister Debuts as Campaigner".
scholar-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution’s
cbs2Chicago. May 12, 2007. http://cbs2chicago.com/
Asian Pacific American Program in 2009.[3]
politics/Maya.Soetoro.Ng.2.336990.html.
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maya Soetoro-Ng
[14] Democratic National Convention 2008, brief bio, transcending_race_and_identity/. Retrieved
http://www.demconvention.com/ August 31, 2009.
convention-2008-siblings-of-barack-and-michelle- Persondata
obama-to-speak-tonight/ Retrieved Jan 19, 2009
Name Soetoro-Ng, Maya Kassandra
[15] Dunham, S. Ann; Maya Soetoro-Ng (foreword)
(2009). Alice G. Dewey and Nancy I. Cooper. ed. Alternative names Soetoro-Ng, Maya
Surviving Against the Odds: Village Industry in Short description Teacher
Indonesia. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press. Date of birth August 15, 1970
ISBN 0-8223-4687-7. http://www.dukeupress.edu/
Place of birth Jakarta, Indonesia
books.php3?isbn=978-0-8223-4687-6. Retrieved 12
April 2011. Date of death
[16] Obama’s Sister Debuts as Campaigner - Place of death
washingtonpost.com
[17] The Gaggle : Watch Out, Hillary! If You Think I’m
All About the Politics of Hope, Wait ’Til You Meet
My Half-Sister!
[18] ^ Solomon, Deborah (January 20, 2008). "All in the
Family". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/magazine/
20wwln-Q4-t.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin.
[19] Pelosi, Michelle Obama to kick off Dem Convention
[20] "Asian Dispatchers from the 2008 DNC". AsianWeek.
Retrieved on August 29, 2008.
[21] Nolan, Daniel (June 11, 2008). "Relative: Obama’s
got ’a good handle on Canada’". The Hamilton
Spectator. http://www.thespec.com/
burlingtonlife/article/384475. Retrieved July 3,
2008.
[22] Nolan, Daniel (June 11, 2008). "Obama’s Burlington
connection". The Hamilton Spectator.
http://www.thespec.com/article/384307.
Retrieved June 21, 2008.
[23] Misner, Jason (June 20, 2008). "Barack Obama was
here". Burlington Post.
http://www.burlingtonpost.com/printarticle/
186215. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
[24] Cooper, Tom (January 20, 2009). "Keep watch for
Obama". The Hamilton Spectator.
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/
499161. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
[25] ^ Fornek, Scott (September 9, 2007). "’He helped
me find my voice’". Chicago Sun-Times.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/
familytree/545473,BSX-News-wotreehh09.article.
[26] Green, Stephanie; Glover, Elizabeth (August 10,
2009). "Sister and niece act". The Washington Times.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/
aug/10/green-glover-sister-and-niece-act/.
Retrieved September 6, 2009.
[27] Goodman, Ellen (January 25, 2008). "Transcending
race and identity". The Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/
editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/25/
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maya_Soetoro-Ng&oldid=464490813"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maya Soetoro-Ng
Categories:
• 1970 births
• Living people
• Obama family
• Siblings of Presidents of the United States
• American academics of Asian descent
• American people of Indonesian descent
• American people of English descent
• American people of German descent
• American people of Irish descent
• People of Huguenot descent
• Javanese people
• American Buddhists
• American schoolteachers
• New York University alumni
• People from Honolulu, Hawaii
• People from Jakarta
• Punahou School alumni
• Barnard College alumni
• University of Hawaii alumni
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