Charlotte rooted, New York City cultivated, and in Los Angeles bloom, Malia’s work sprouts from an innate passion for capturing the human experience.
The discovery of her family’s history on road trips from her parents, married with first person testimonies from grandparents, great aunts and great uncles upon arrival, drove a fascination of storytelling that routed her career ambition towards writing, acting and producing.
Malia is an alumna of Marymount Manhattan College where she received a BA Theatre Performance Degree with a Writing Minor and was also awarded the Golden Key for Playwriting. She is also a graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University where she obtained her Masters in Humanities with an Emphasis in Creative Writing.
During a writing children’s literature course at MSMU, Malia wrote “Rapunzel Jackson”, the story of a black girl who’s being pulled by her roots into womanhood by her first perm. She produced and starred in the short, which screened at film festivals across the country and will make its broadcast debut on Aspire TV this year.
Most recently Malia was selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Sesame Workshop Writers’ Room.
Malia’s artistic approach is founded in a commitment to authentic storytelling, with a spotlight on underrepresented voices, including children. You can follow the journey of her work by following @maliadawkins on Instagram.