Daniel Cnossen
Daniel Cnossen, leadership and inspirational keynote speaker, governing board member of the Mountain Seed Foundation and 7-time Paralympic medalist. Dan was raised on a fifth-generation family farm in Topeka, Kansas. After successfully completing SEAL qualification training in 2003, he deployed numerous times in support of global special operations. As a SEAL platoon commander, he was severely injured in 2009 in Afghanistan, resulting in the amputation of both legs above the knees. Turning to sport for recovery, he began training for the U.S. Paralympic ski team in 2011 as a cross-country skier and biathlete. He has since competed for Team USA at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Games and is the first male athlete to win a gold medal for the United States in biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with precision shooting. Cnossen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in English from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a master’s degree in theological studies from the Harvard Divinity School. Dan is also on the Board of Directors of the MountainSeed Foundation a veteran lead organization stablished in 2021, with the goal of providing mental health support to help children and their families caught in the warzones of Europe, particularly in Ukraine.
