Somedays, life can come full circle for Dr. Maria when she returned to the NSA Speaker Academy in March 2025 as a guest faculty member. Dr. Malayter graduated from the Speaker Academy about 10 years ago, where she developed her signature keynote “Navigating the RIDE of Change”. This keynote led to the development of the book of the same name, “Navigating the RIDE of Change: A journey of wellness and healing” ,where she chronicles the story of her recovery from a traumatic brain injury, which in demonstrated resilience, courage, and change agility.
As guest faculty, Dr. Maria guided the attendees through a process of discovery of product development and revenue beyond the podium in their speaking businesses. The topics covered were targeted activities on how to (1) self-reflect on value provided to audiences from life experiences, (2) create an avatar or persona of the target individual who would benefit from these insights, and finally (3) develop products to support the persona. This led to discussions on various ways to provide value and skills within the local community.
“It was a pure honor to work with these talented professionals as they build their speaking business.” , said Dr. Malayter.