Maja Hazell is a trained life and executive leadership coach, who has worked with clients for 12 years as founder of Career Prep Coaching Services LLC. She is also a Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional and provides consulting services on a broad range of corporate talent management and organizational development issues.

Maja joined D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in 2021 as a managing director and Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and most recently served as their Head of Engagement Strategy and as an internal Executive Coach before they became a client of her firm in 2026.

Prior to joining D. E. Shaw, she was global head of diversity and inclusion at two law firms, including White & Case LLP, where she advised clients, global partners, and senior leaders across practice areas, business units, functions, and industry groups on embedding DEI in their business strategies and talent goals. Maja also served as an assistant dean for career development at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University following her career as a lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

Maja is currently Secretary and a member of the board of directors and investment committee of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. She is the former president of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals and a founding member of the board of advisors to the Leadership Institute of the Council of Urban Professionals for pipeline development in finance, media, and law. She is also a former member of the executive board of the New York Urban League, Hunter College Presidential Pre-Law Advisory Board, diversity committees of the New York City Bar Association, and diversity council of the Practising Law Institute.

She received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in English from Yale University. She is most proud of her daughter who is currently attending Spelman College, her career in DEI which has aligned her vocation with her purpose to champion the needs of marginalized groups, her gift for seeing the potential of any individual through a coaching conversation, and her unwavering commitment to supporting women leaders.