As an undergrad, Don Maynard served as the first president of Penn’s Black Student League and became involved in recruiting minority students interested in engineering. Upon graduation, he spent three years as a process engineer at the Maxwell House Coffee division of General Foods Corporation. He then returned to Penn, serving as the first director of the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Minorities Program. While in this position he was also co-founder, along with Chuck Wardlaw, of the CEAS NSBE Chapter.
He then embarked on a career in the Oil, Gas & Chemicals Industries. He took on increasingly responsible positions in process economics, strategic planning, new business development, purchasing, sales, new technology project management and internal corporate venture funding for three multinational corporations. Post his corporate career he served as an independent consultant in the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production space. This included project management of technology innovations in heavy oil desulfurization, hydraulic fracturing efficiency and robotic drilling. Additionally, he managed a project exploring the use of fuel cells in military vehicles for DARPA/DoD.
Now semi-retired, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 47 years, also a Penn grad, three daughters and five grandchildren.