“For over twenty years, I built what most would call a successful corporate career. I led teams, launched initiatives, traveled internationally for work, and facilitated workshops in rooms full of senior executives. I learned how to lead a team, run a room, keep the trains on track, and move people to a goal.

But over the last 10 years, another part of me was growing. I began volunteering at the SPCA in 2015. I started with the “green dogs” who are well-behaved, then later trained-up to work with the “yellow dogs” and eventually the “red dogs.” Red means highest risk: the dogs trembling in the back of the kennel, severely reactive, bite history, etc. They’re not trying to cause trouble. They’re trying to cope in an environment that is really, really challenging for them.

I didn't just understand them. I saw myself in them.

For years, I had been the one who looked composed while quietly struggling to manage my own intensity. I’ve battled ADHD throughout my life, and especially in my career. Fast-paced strategic thinking worked well, but impulsiveness and emotional dysregulation often made the days a lot harder than they looked. I was an introvert who was a C+ at playing an extrovert on TV.

Recently, I was wearing my Resilient Rover hoodie in the park when a woman asked about my business. She told me her puppy had chewed through his leash and wandered all over the office. She was embarrassed. I was secretly a little bit proud of the puppy. He wasn’t defiant. His needs weren’t being met. He was curious and craving autonomy. So he took action.

I laughed and said, “you know what, I think I did the same thing.” After two decades in corporate life, I chewed through my own leash. Away from the desk I found something that perfectly meets my needs.

The good from that 20 years didn’t disappear...strategy, communication, client service, project management. It all just evolved. I began applying those same skills at the intersection of human psychology and canine neuroscience.

Partnership, Empathy, and Trust aren’t just guiding principles. When people and dogs feel safe, stress chemistry settles and curiosity returns. When people and dogs feel understood, clarity replaces frustration. Progress becomes sustainable.

Every program and every training session is built around this idea. Slowing down, reading the signals. Building connections instead of issuing corrections. Because resilience doesn’t come from command-and-control obedience. It happens when we feel safe enough to explore.”