MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER & WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Give me your audience for an hour. They’ll leave knowing something about themselves they didn’t walk in with
Nobody gets told what to wear. Practical, warm, occasionally funny conversations about how women present themselves - and what it takes to show up as yourself when life keeps changing the brief.
You may have seen me here
Two conversations I’m always happy to have
Some rooms want the style expert. Some want the woman who started over. I speak to both, and often they're closer than they look.
The style conversations
For women's events, conferences, corporate teams, schools and workshops - sessions about colour, presence and the way we dress ourselves through change.
Wear the clothes. Don't let the clothes wear you.
Why so much style advice starts from the wrong question - how do I hide this? - and what changes when you start from what actually works on you instead. Audiences leave with the basics of colour, line and proportion, and permission to stop dressing around themselves.
Dressing the body you have now
Bodies change - pregnancy, perimenopause, illness, time. This one's about styling through those changes without treating them as a problem to solve. Honest, practical and, going by the questions afterwards, a conversation a lot of women have been waiting to have out loud.
How you show up before you speak
For leadership programmes, professional teams and client-facing groups. What people read in the first few seconds, how posture and presentation either back up your expertise or undercut it, and how to dress for the room you're walking into without disappearing into it.
Style for young women
Colour, confidence and self-expression for girls growing up under more appearance pressure than any generation before them - and the mothers who want them to grow up liking what they see.
The reinvention conversations
For women's events, business and networking groups, and anywhere the room needs to hear that starting again is survivable.
Deciding what comes next
I rebuilt my life in my thirties with a dollar in my pocket and two children depending on me. What I learned is that reinvention isn't a feeling that arrives - it's a series of decisions about what you carry forward, what you leave behind and who you're willing to become. This is that story, and what it taught me.
Starting over in a new country
Moving countries, rebuilding a career, starting a business where nobody knows your name. For rural and regional business audiences, and anyone in the room quietly wondering if it's too late to begin something.
The woman in the full-length mirror
On liking what you see - not because someone else approves, but because you've stopped outsourcing the verdict. Appearance pressure, ageing, visibility, and why noticing your own beauty isn’t vanity.
“The Colour Me Confident event was a huge success, showcasing Maria Ward's incredible styling skills and racing an impressive $4844 for our centre. Thank you for your dedication and support. The funds raised will make a significant impact for the women of Hawke’s Bay, helping us continue to empower and uplift our community.”
- Heretaunga Women’s Centre, Colour Me Confident eventSomething else in mind?
Most of my talks get shaped around the women in front of me. Tell me who your audience is and what you'd like them to walk away with, and I'll build something for them.
“Thank you so much for a great talk at our annual Mums and Daughters Breakfast. We were lucky to be joined by you, Hawke’s Bay’s go-to personal stylist and image consultant. You spoke about confidence and style in a way that really connected, practical, warm and full of encouragement. We’re so glad you were part of it.” # Iona College # | Iona College
“Maria and I hosted an in-store VIP experience. Maria made the experience next level phenomenal, and us style enthusiasts learned so much from her.” # Pre-loved Boutique # | Claire, Our Story Pre-loved Boutique & Founder of Hawke’s Bay Op Shops & Pre-Loved Stores
“Thank you for such a wonderful workshop. Everyone really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. You are a great presenter!” #Anglican Care Waiapu# | Jo, General Manager People & Culture, Anglican Care Waiapu
MARIA WARD
Meet your speaker
Maria Ward is a personal stylist and image consultant based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. A member of the Association of Image Consultants International and certified in colour analysis, she has spent more than 15 years helping people understand what works for them - from women returning to work and stepping into leadership, to business owners, beauty queens and politicians.
Her background spans psychology, human resources and the entertainment industry, across two countries. She moved to New Zealand from the Philippines and built her business here, work that draws directly on her own experience of starting over.
She lives in Te Awanga with her family, and practices aerial fitness when she isn't styling.
Keynote
Events
Workshops
Panels
Podcasts
Media
Book me to speak
Programming an event, planning a workshop or looking for someone to talk to a roomful of women? Tell me who they are and what you'd like them to leave with.
I’m based in Hawke’s Bay and travel throughout New Zealand - overseas and virtual are both possible, too.