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Did you know San Diego is home to “America’s #1 black-owned gourmet vegan cookie company?” I did not, until I found the website for Maya’s Cookies, a cookie bakery operating out of an industrial park in a tucked away corner of Grantville. Obviously, a lot of qualifiers involved to make that claim, but the most important thing is there are excellent cookies to be found at the end of it.

Founded in 2015 by Maya Madsen, Maya's Cookies is America's top Black-owned vegan cookie company. As a vegan with a sweet tooth, Madsen spent years crafting her award-winning recipes. Raised as a foster child, she experienced a difficult childhood. But her hard work, perseverance, and natural-born competitive spirit have paid off. In 2017, Maya’s Cookies received a $5,000 micro loan via BTAD, which they have since repaid. This assisted the small business in securing supplies, hiring staff and building out the company. To aspiring entrepreneurs, Madsen offers this advice. “Find people in your life that lift you up. Hire professionals around you...

Brynley Lavayen is only 5 years old, but she’s already written a book about animal rights and raised hundreds of dollars for animal sanctuaries—now, her creative efforts to help animals have won her top honors in PETA Kids’ 2021 All-Star for Animals Contest. Brynley has won a year’s supply of vegan cookies from San Diego–based Maya’s Cookies, a trophy, a gift bag of merchandise from PETA Kids, and yearlong bragging rights. 

Maya Madsen of Maya's Cookies will be briefly featured in the 20/20 ABC Primetime Special: Soul of a Nation - Together We Triumph