WIL Talk #120, Shannon Walker CEO & Co-Founder of Northwest Battle Buddies

What does it take to champion your cause? Find out how with Shannon Walker, the founder of Northwest Battle Buddies. Shannon has been in the non-profit business since 2012 and has embarked on a journey to support Veterans battling PTSD by providing them with professionally trained service dogs and facilitating their path to freedom and independence. In the face of the bleak reality where 22 Veterans a day, over 8000 annually commit suicide on American soil, she and her team stand at the forefront of transformation. Boasting a 100% success rate and no lives lost to suicide since the introduction of service dogs, and her pursuit of positive change. Shannon spent over 30 years as a professional dog trainer working with police organizations, and service dogs, both in North America and Internationally.   Her father served in the Korean War and her twin boys also served in the military to fight for our freedoms. During our conversation she dives into why and how to champion your cause, the resilience it requires and the determination to succeed.  She is on a mission for no more lives to be lost to suicide and to date has adopted and professionally trained 245 service dogs, and currently has 90 veterans on a waitlist to be paired with a service dog. The positive impact she is making is remarkable. Her level of commitment to educating and making what is invisibly visible is to be commended. She recognizes the courage our veterans require to step forward and not succumb to the statistics. She also shares the obstacles and the importance of truly trained service dogs that there is an abundance of “fake” ones out there and the importance of educating others on the harm that can happen due to the system being polluted and those looking for hope and a new start.Her motto is “No one lost to Suicide”. You can find Shannon and her team at www.northwestbattlebuddies.com  to learn more about their mission and how you can support them. Want to better understand your own leadership, visit us at www.wilempowered.com and take our free leadership quiz to learn more.#veterans #northwestbattlebuddies #servicedogs #wilempowered #wiltalk #purpose