<p>Drawing from her incredible life-affirming story of resilience, Maja Kazazic shows organizations and individuals how to harness the power of empathy to turn loss into growth and surpass their greatest expectations. </p><p>When she was 16 years old, Maja Kazazic's life changed forever. In the summer of 1993, two years into the Bosnian War—a genocide that killed 250,000 people and injured millions—a rocket-propelled grenade exploded in her courtyard destroying her home and killing five of her friends. Her legs were shattered in the blast. In a makeshift hospital, Maja eventually required amputation of her left leg without any anesthetic. </p><p>Kazazic lay close to death when she was selected to be one of three children evacuated for treatment. She left her home and her family with only a teddy bear, a t-shirt and a rock. As people in Maja's new hometown of Cumberland, Maryland learned of her story, the community volunteered their time, money, and effort to make her whole again.</p><p>Despite struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and constant panic attacks and night terrors, Maja was determined to overcome her obstacles. She learned how to walk again, finished high school and college, and eventually started a very successful software company whose clients included Fortune 100 companies. She has since learned to windsurf, play tennis and golf, and even run. </p><p>Today, Maja is passionate about motivating others to face their challenges, break down their barriers and reach their greatest goals, sharing her inspiring story and the strategies that helped her succeed. </p>
Bosnian War genocide survivor, certified empathy coach, below-knee amputee
<ul><li><strong>A Mile in My Shoes: The Power of Empathy </strong></li><li>In this keynote address Maja helps attendees harness the power of empathy to teach corporations how to cultivate and build positive and healthy work environments that thrive on teamwork— how to become better leaders, create, and foster healthy, meaningful relationships with coworkers, employees, and customers. The tools learned during this keynote are easily applicable to personal relationships. </li><li><strong>Future Forward: Strong Leadership Through Adversity </strong></li><li>Perhaps your organization is facing a hard quarter or a tough year. Maybe you are facing major changes and obstacles right now. If that’s the case, this keynote is for you. Maja paints a hopeful and bright future as she teaches attendees how to face loss and turn it into powerful lessons for growth. Learn how to face hard times directly and go through them like a champion. Learn how to use difficult situations and obstacles to empower you and your team to catapult to the next level. Your attendees will leave inspired, full of hope, and ready to tackle even the hardest challenges head on.</li><li><strong>Diversity in Action: Creating Inclusive Cultures </strong></li><li>It’s not enough to just speak about diversity in corporate culture — we must put it into action! To do so, we must build and nurture a diverse workplace culture to improve employee experience and productivity. This keynote focuses on cultural competence and diversity initiatives that will teach how to better understand and appreciate a multitude of perspectives. Maja is a disabled, woman, Muslim, gay, immigrant who faced her fair share of diversity exclusion. Maja’s lessons help leaders become more aware of how to best interact with different cultural groups, raise awareness and communication, as well as cultivate an increased sense of community.</li></ul>