MAJKA BURHARDT
An Author, professional climber, filmmaker, and entrepreneur, She is the founder and director of LEGADO, a global venture designed to foster a future where people and ecosystems thrive. Majka has spent two decades exploring the globe—usually by hand and foot—and her stories of challenge, humanity, and the fine line between extreme and acceptable risk continue to inspire audiences everywhere.
Majka Burhardt Speaker - ProfileMajka Burhardt has a passion for creating unusual connections. As an author, professional climber, filmmaker, and entrepreneur, Majka has spent two decades exploring the globe—usually by hand and foot—and her stories of challenge, humanity, and the fine line between extreme and acceptable risk continue to inspire audiences around the world. As a keynote speaker and writer Majka champions “Additive Adventure”—when adventure goes beyond exploration to cultural and environmental connections that create a larger conversation of singular and collective human meaning.
Majka has 16 years of experience producing multi-stage international ventures focused on current issues of cultural and global significance. Her first book, Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, short‑listed for the Banff Book Award. Her second book was, Coffee Story: Ethiopia. Majka produced Waypoint Namibia and the film was featured at international film festivals and shown on NBC’s Universal Sports. Majka was nominated for an EPIC Emerging Artist Award for her work as the Executive Producer. She is the founder and director of the 2014 The Lost Mountain Project, a pioneering biological study of the cliffside habitat on Mt. Namuli, Mozambique’s second highest mountain and a critical target for conservation in southeast Africa. As a keynote speaker, Majka addresses a diverse group of organizations and companies. Her clients have included Google, Nespresso, the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, the Commonwealth Club, Banff Film and Book Festival, Colorado Environmental Coalition, universities and colleges throughout North America, and many others. Her work and projects have been featured in The Economist, Outside magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and many other major international media outlets. Majka’s articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men’s Health, Skiing, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women’s Adventure, The Explorers Journal, and Climbing, where her column “Whipped,” ran for six years. Majka’s blog, The Liminal Line, can be found here, on her website. Majka has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers and received her BA in Anthropology from Princeton University. She is an ambassador/athlete for Patagonia, Osprey Packs, Positive Tracks, Petzl, Scarpa, and Julbo. She is an American Mountain Guides Association Certified Rock Guide also serves on the organizations Board of Directors. Curious how to say her name? It’s “My-ka.” SPEAKING TOPICS |
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Majka gives keynotes and seminars at tradeshows, conferences, and company events around the world. She speaks to corporate, non-profit, organizational and academic groups.
Majka’s presentations combine dynamic stories with images from award winning photographers and videographers. She is also available to work with smaller groups and in workshops and clinics in conjunction with her talks.
Majka crafts her presentations to match and challenge her audiences.
Leadership When It Matters
What climbing in the wild can teach us about teams, collaboration, and true grit
How do teams achieve impossible goals? How do stakeholders coalesce into powerful teams? In Majka’s Leadership When it Matters keynote she shares the vital commitments of cohesion that create innovative and successful teams. Majka’s astonishing stories and footage of successfully leading teams through poisonous-snake-infested grasslands, up crumbling sandstone spires, and into charged tribal politics galvanize leaders and team members into productive action.
Triumph In Uncharted Territory
How to Use Change to Thrive
Every day in modern business we each embark into unchartered territory, filled with change, uncertainty, and unpredictable outcomes. Majka can teach your audience how to not only succeed, but triumph through every step of the journey. Majka shares the keys of dynamic risk assessment honed from years rock and ice climbing in unknown corners of the world. Attendees will become master explorers with Majka and come away with simple, concrete ways to shift challenges into possibilities and the power to use their intuition to ignite passion for change.
Adventure When It Matters—Beyond CSR There Are Additive Adventures
Additive Adventure begins where most explorations end
Corporate Social Responsibility and Doing Well By Doing Good start with individual passion and fire. Stoke both and create a stronger corporate climate centered on innovation with Majka’s keynote on Additive Adventure. Majka incorporates tactile examples from her cutting-edge collaborations in Africa, pairing climbing with biodiversity, education, and enterprise development. She shows her audiences how to reach the full extent of their personal potential both locally and globally for their work adventures and beyond.
Additive Adventure, The Series
Ongoing series integrating Majka’s recent projects merging adventure with global citizenship
What’s Additive Adventure? It’s Majka’s term for when adventure extends beyond exploration to create cultural and environmental connection. From the roots of coffee, to rock climbing expeditions in the Horn of Africa, to an unflinching look at cultural use and misuse in Namibia, Additive Adventure takes a global look at the individual’s role in larger issues and communities. Can the grandest adventure create the smallest conversation with the largest meaning? Can being a global citizen begin with a question? Can your passion lead you to your greatest impact? Majka takes on these tough questions when she takes us on a journey to go local by going to origin; by going to Additive Adventure.
Coffee Story: Ethiopia, The Tour
It’s a simple question: What if a food crop—coffee—could change a nation’s future?
Be part of the answer with the Coffee Story Ethiopia Speaking Tours.
Public Tour: A combined discussion of food anthropology, development, adventure, and the impact of coffee on world politics and global understanding. Event List Includes: Google Headquarters, Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, Seattle Town Hall, and many others.
Industry Speaking Series: The Coffee Story Ethiopia Industry Speaking Series offers a unique experience to companies and organizations in the coffee industry. Majka can address intimate executive sessions, company-wide meetings, large-scale conferences, public forums, and joint initiatives.
Majka’s presentations combine dynamic stories with images from award winning photographers and videographers. She is also available to work with smaller groups and in workshops and clinics in conjunction with her talks.
Majka crafts her presentations to match and challenge her audiences.
Leadership When It Matters
What climbing in the wild can teach us about teams, collaboration, and true grit
How do teams achieve impossible goals? How do stakeholders coalesce into powerful teams? In Majka’s Leadership When it Matters keynote she shares the vital commitments of cohesion that create innovative and successful teams. Majka’s astonishing stories and footage of successfully leading teams through poisonous-snake-infested grasslands, up crumbling sandstone spires, and into charged tribal politics galvanize leaders and team members into productive action.
Triumph In Uncharted Territory
How to Use Change to Thrive
Every day in modern business we each embark into unchartered territory, filled with change, uncertainty, and unpredictable outcomes. Majka can teach your audience how to not only succeed, but triumph through every step of the journey. Majka shares the keys of dynamic risk assessment honed from years rock and ice climbing in unknown corners of the world. Attendees will become master explorers with Majka and come away with simple, concrete ways to shift challenges into possibilities and the power to use their intuition to ignite passion for change.
Adventure When It Matters—Beyond CSR There Are Additive Adventures
Additive Adventure begins where most explorations end
Corporate Social Responsibility and Doing Well By Doing Good start with individual passion and fire. Stoke both and create a stronger corporate climate centered on innovation with Majka’s keynote on Additive Adventure. Majka incorporates tactile examples from her cutting-edge collaborations in Africa, pairing climbing with biodiversity, education, and enterprise development. She shows her audiences how to reach the full extent of their personal potential both locally and globally for their work adventures and beyond.
Additive Adventure, The Series
Ongoing series integrating Majka’s recent projects merging adventure with global citizenship
What’s Additive Adventure? It’s Majka’s term for when adventure extends beyond exploration to create cultural and environmental connection. From the roots of coffee, to rock climbing expeditions in the Horn of Africa, to an unflinching look at cultural use and misuse in Namibia, Additive Adventure takes a global look at the individual’s role in larger issues and communities. Can the grandest adventure create the smallest conversation with the largest meaning? Can being a global citizen begin with a question? Can your passion lead you to your greatest impact? Majka takes on these tough questions when she takes us on a journey to go local by going to origin; by going to Additive Adventure.
Coffee Story: Ethiopia, The Tour
It’s a simple question: What if a food crop—coffee—could change a nation’s future?
Be part of the answer with the Coffee Story Ethiopia Speaking Tours.
Public Tour: A combined discussion of food anthropology, development, adventure, and the impact of coffee on world politics and global understanding. Event List Includes: Google Headquarters, Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, Seattle Town Hall, and many others.
Industry Speaking Series: The Coffee Story Ethiopia Industry Speaking Series offers a unique experience to companies and organizations in the coffee industry. Majka can address intimate executive sessions, company-wide meetings, large-scale conferences, public forums, and joint initiatives.
