Christine Maier

Christine is an author and TEDx speaker who empowers individuals and organizations to turn obstacles into opportunities to understand their beauty, purpose, and power. Christine was born with a cleft lip and palate and has had over 20 surgeries. In elementary school, Christine was classified as learning disabled. Despite that, Christine is the author of the awarding winning books, Blue Sky Morning, The Too Tall Giraffe, and The Day Bert Smiled. After being tired of hearing stories of what she couldn’t achieve and beating the odds, Christine is now passionate about guiding you through changing your thinking and re-igniting your passion. Christine earned her bachelor’s degree from The Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree from the University at Albany. During her career in the NYPD, Christine was a policy analyst, instructor in the police academy, and a 9/11 rescue worker. She retired in the rank of Sergeant. While assigned to New York City Emergency Management, Christine became the first female Director of Watch Command. Her team of 35 coordinated emergency incidents in New York City and issued emergency alerts to the public 24 hours 7 days a week. Christine spent years believing a cleft lip and palate, being the shortest kid in class, and a learning disability were holding her back. But the opposite was true. They taught her that what makes us different is really the foundation for understanding our superpowers.