Felicia
Voss-Shafiq

Felicia Voss-Shafiq has been a member of the women’s sitting volleyball team since 2015. She competed at 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games, the 2018 and 2022 (silver) world championships and won bronze medals at the 2015 and 2019 Parapan Am Games.

Voss-Shafiq was born in Fiji. At age 12 she and her mother moved to San Francisco. She began working at Cisco Sytems at 18. At age 20 Voss-Shafiq and her mother made the decision to move to Vancouver,  Voss-Shafiq continued to work for Cisco Systems remotely until age 24 when she got hired as a support engineer at SAP Software.

In 2011, Voss-Shafiq contracted pneumonia, resulting in blood poisoning which sent her body into a coma. Two weeks later she woke up with her hands and feet bandaged.

The doctors were hopeful she would make a full recovery. Slowly but surely her hands recovered, with the exception of a few nerves in her fingertips. The doctors waited a full year for her legs before the decision was made to do a double amputation below the knee.

After 3.5 years of recovery and rehabilitation Voss-Shafiq achieved her goal of going back to work and  was eventually steered towards sitting volleyball.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS

2016, 2020 Paralympic Games… 2015, 2019 Parapan American Games… 2018, 2022 World Championships…

PERSONAL

Manager at SAP Software in Vancouver…In 2018, received the “Diversity and Inclusion Award” from SAP… Played standing volleyball for the first time at 25… Worked with Cisco Systems at age 18… Volunteers for Amputee Coalition of Canada Peer Visitor Program.

NOTABLE INTERNATIONAL RESULTS

• 2022 World Championships – 2nd
• 2020 Paralympic Games – 4th
• 2019 Parapan Am Games – 3rd
• 2018 world championship – 7th
• 2016 Paralympic Games – 7th
• 2015 Parapan Am Games – 3rd