Maria Leister

Maria Leister serves as the Director of Training and Medical Bioethics at the Harvard/MGH Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT), where she leads global initiatives to advance trauma-informed leadership, bioethics, and human rights in humanitarian settings. Maria has been a member of HPRT’s Global Mental Health, Trauma and Recovery teaching faculty since 2016. She is also a course instructor in the Master of Science in Bioethics program at the HMS Center for Bioethics.

Her work focuses on building sustainable, cross-cultural frameworks that support resilience and dignity for communities affected by mass violence, conflict, and displacement.

Prior to joining HPRT, Ms. Leister designed and led programs and projects for organizations including UNICEF, FIFA, and Kotter International, and helped create the Jack T. Litman Fellowship and Emerging Leaders programs at Harvard Law School. She also directed an immigration program for a global relief and development organization, where she established legal services offices and led community engagement initiatives for migrant workers. Her expertise includes training healthcare professionals and leaders in high-risk environments, with a focus on psychological safety and bioethics frameworks. She has presented extensively on collective trauma and the power of community to heal and continues to advise on a range of bioethical issues.