Fadji Maina is a 2025–2026 Millennium fellow and a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her work, which uses advanced models and satellite-derived datasets, deepens understanding of water availability and climate extremes, such as droughts and floods, to support long-term planning and sustainable water resource management in a changing world. Originally from Niger, Maina is committed to supporting the next generation of scientists from her home country. In 2023, she launched a nine-month mentoring program for Nigerien PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Maina was named to Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list in 2020 and selected as one of the one hundred most influential Africans of 2020 by New African Magazine. She is also a two-time recipient of the NASA Goddard Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics Peer Award for Scientific Achievement. She holds a PhD in hydrology and an MS in environmental engineering from the University of Strasbourg, and a BS in geological engineering from the University of Fes.