fbpx
Niagara College Community Employment Services 905-641-2252 ext 4670

ACL Leader in Focus- Maja Ristic

Maja serves as the Program Coordinator/Advisor Public Safety with Ontario Power Generation. In her role, she supports the initiatives put in place to keep the public safe around OPGs Niagara operations and facilities, including the five local OPG generating stations, and the International Niagara Control Works (INCW) which maintains the flow of water over Niagara Falls. 

With a Master of Disaster (& Emergency Management), Maja’s career and volunteer experiences have centred around her aspiration to meaningfully contribute to the improvement of the lives of others.  

Fascinated by the human capacity to experience crisis and thrive among it, she strives to demonstrate to herself and others that no matter the circumstances, we can achieve what we believe in. Seeing through experience that the greatest resources we have are within us, and among one other, she aspires to influence and engage with others to facilitate this understanding, energy and faith towards positive action.

For R&R, Maja enjoys Niagara’s nature and waterfronts with her German Shepherd puppy Miko. 

How do you define civic leadership?

In my view, civic leadership is engaging in and contributing to the people and community we live within. It is about empowerment through diversity, teamwork, and collaborating towards a common goal.

Why are you personally motivated to explore civic leadership?

I fundamentally believe we all have the potential to be civic leaders. It’s a matter of acknowledging this within ourselves and choosing to engage it. By further exploring civic leadership, and engaging in deliberate and proactive learning I feel I can continue to develop myself in a way where I can evolve daily to be the best version of myself, and participate with others in making a meaningful difference here in Niagara.

I also see community involvement as an important component for the health and wellbeing of oneself, and the health and wellbeing of the communities we live work and/or play in.

In your view, what’s the most important attribute of a leader?

While many important attributes define a leader when I think of a leader, I think of the ‘spirit and intention’ of that person. A leader’s spirit is honest, authentic, and of integrity. A leader’s intention is a focus on others, and an approach of engaging, inspiring and encouraging others to be their best selves, and their best among other

What individual attributes do you hope to develop or expand upon?

As a very proactive and highly driven individual, I often pursue varying interests, and deliberately get out of my comfort zone to expand my growth and discover what I am capable of and how I can implement that further. One attribute of strong leadership is a vision, and so I hope to develop a clearer vision of how and where I can harness my energy, creativity, ambition, experiences and assets in a way to engage the community I now call home.

June 8th, 2020