Maria Keckler, Ph.D.

Judge
DISC Type : Dc

Co-Founder and CEO at Pivotal Empathy, Inc.

San Diego, California, United States

Overview

Maria Keckler, PhD, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pivotal Empathy, Inc. , where she transforms patient stories into tools to prevent clinician burnout. A transdisciplinary behavioral researcher, she also co-founded the EmpathyRx Lab at San Diego State University. People who have worked with her often describe her as forward-thinking, strategic, engaging, and a gifted communicator.

Outside of her professional work, Maria is deeply committed to her community, serving for over ten years on the board of the Davids Harp Foundation. She is an author and enjoys spending time with her family, including traveling with her husband and daughter.

Interesting fact: Her own challenging experience as a patient became the catalyst for her doctoral research into the decline of empathy in healthcare.

Personality Overview

Generally Skeptic

Objective Thinker

Quality Focused

They like to move fast and expect the same from others.  They take a lot of pride in personal achievements. More than the product, they care about the impact of the product.

Topics They Care About

Empathy in Healthcare
Her work at Pivotal Empathy and the EmpathyRx Lab focuses on translating patient narratives into evidence-based tools to improve care and combat clinician burnout.
Behavioral Science
She applies neuroscience, narrative medicine, and behavioral science to develop practical, research-rigorous interventions for healthcare professionals at the point of care.
Power of Storytelling
As an author and researcher, she champions storytelling as a crucial tool for building empathy, elevating human strengths, and driving connection in a tech-driven world.

Media Appearances

Maria has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2025
Co-Founder and CEO at Pivotal Empathy, Inc.
5-2024
Co-Founder and Research Scientist at EmpathyRx Lab for Healthcare at San Diego State University
12-2020
Founder at Keckler & Co
8-2024
Writer at Just One Pivot
4-2025
Editor and Writer at Medium

Education

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD from Claremont Graduate University
Ph.D. from San Diego State University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : N/A Location : San Diego, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Co-Founder and CEO at Pivotal Empathy, Inc.
URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Maria

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Make sure that you circle back fast on any action items, it wins their trust
  • Get to the point quickly instead of spending time doing small talk
  • Objectively showcase the impact that your product creates

DONT's

  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet
  • Avoid being a storyteller and don’t try to oversell
  • Don’t focus on process and rules, give the impression of being a ‘gets it done’ person

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Maria is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Maria

  • If they decide not to go ahead, they will say no without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Maria move?

  • They can reach decisions fairly quickly if they are convinced.
  • Can Maria take some risk or not?

  • They don’t mind risks but can be quite binary about them.

You And Maria

Personality Compatibility


More Profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Search more profiles

Looking for someone else? Search here for anyone.

Or visit Humantic AI to know more.