Dr Natalie Stavas

Keynote speaker Dr. Natalie Stavas was approaching the finish line of her 5th Boston marathon when explosions shook the city. Instinctively running towards the chaos that ravaged the renowned athletic event, she raced to save as many lives as possible, administering CPR, applying tourniquets and triaging the wounded. Recognized for her bravery, her actions resulted in her emerging as a national hero, honored by President Barack Obama and named “2013 Bostonian of the Year” by The Boston Globe.

Fervently committed to making a difference, speaker Dr. Natalie Stavas works as a physician at Boston Children’s Hospital, specializing in work with teenage mothers, improving the health of vulnerable children and decreasing youth violence. Her significant contributions to medicine and community earned her the 2012 Change Maker award from The Boston Foundation.

Dr. Stavas continues to adopt new methods for contributing toward her cause, now serving as a weekly medical contributor for Boston’s FOX 25 and a mentor for the non-profit, Sole Train. She also travels regularly to Haiti to provide medical care to children and help strengthen the fragile medical infrastructure, and her work as a medical pioneer was featured in a documentary that premiered at the 2014 South by Southwest film festival.

With a distinctive “Running Towards Chaos” philosophy, Dr. Stavas uses medical expertise and personal experiences—from her upbringing on a Nebraska farm to the Boston terrorist attacks—to provide fascinating and constructive insight on the importance of altruism and strategies for conquering fear, finding meaning in a chaotic world and ultimately running towards chaos.

Running Towards Chaos

An avid runner, Natalie’s philosophy for success is…. “You Run Towards.” This philosophy was never more apparent than on April 15th 2013. She had just run 26 miles and was about to finish the Boston marathon when the bombs detonated at the finish line. Instead of turning around and running away with the crowd, she ran towards the chaos and saved 4 lives that day.

Natalie Stavas attacks every obstacle with the same attitude:  “You run towards that which you fear, that which challenges you, that which is oppositional.” Natalie speaks to audiences about her experience as a first responder and what ultimately led her to make that fateful decision to run into a terrorist attack.

Natalie Stavas’ “Run Towards Chaos” keynote will ask the audience to reflect on chaos in their own life and how they respond. She will talk about real life chaos both internal and external and discuss the ultimate decision of literally “running into chaos” and how to deal with the consequences. Natalie will explore why we should all consider ourselves people who “run towards” and discuss how we find meaning in our chaotic lives.