The email signature for Mariah Walker ’06, ’10 MED, ’12 MSA, ’24 EDD contains a line that reads, “#Herstory Starts Here.” It’s part of her mantra as principal at Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

“We believe that every single student has gifts, skills and talents that are embedded in their natural DNA,” she says. “We’re teaching them how to pull out what they already have.”

Walker, 42, has been at the academy since 2022, and last year marked her eighth year overall as a principal in Wake County, N.C. Her job, she says, is to make each of the 330 students, ranging from sixth- to 12th-graders, at the school feel seen as a person. That means sending weekly emails to the students, urging them to find “their pocket of peace.” It’s having snacks in her office if they need them. It’s helping them if they have a bad hair day. “I always tell them, ‘I’m like Mother Goose,’” she says. “I’m your mama when your mama’s at work. … Trying to meet them where they are is the biggest thing.”

Serving those kids, Walker says, is her source of inspiration. She instills in them the belief that the school belongs not just to the staff, but to the students, as well. “I definitely try to make sure that there’s understanding that there’s mutual agency,” she says. “This isn’t just my school. The principalship is not a singular role.”

Walker, a Raleigh native, was recognized as the Wake County Public School System 2025–26 Principal of the Year. She was also named the 2026 Wells Fargo North Central Region Principal of the Year.

And last Friday, May 15, Walker was named the 2026 Wells Fargo Principal of the Year for the state.

In talking about what such recognition means to her, Walker says she’s thankful to give back to the same community in which she grew up and learned. And, she says, the awards affirm that “leadership should be centered on people,” something she reinforces to her seniors every year come graduation.

“We give every graduate a book that says ‘I am enough’ on the cover. It is trying to teach them from early on that you already have everything you need. ”

“We give every graduate a book that says ‘I am enough’ on the cover,” she says. “It is trying to teach them from early on that you already have everything you need.

“Anything else on top of that is just to illuminate and brighten your ability to share that with the world.”

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