Life & Work with Mike Kenny

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Kenny.

Hi Mike, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
– USMA, West Point grad, Class of 1993.
– Commissioned infantry, then went Special Forces.
– Retired in 2015 as a lieutenant colonel after 22+ years of service.
– Assumed executive director position of Warriors’ Ascent in 2016.

WA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that helps veterans and first responders with PTS. We’ve run 45 5-day retreats (cohorts) serving over 400 people in the last 5+ years. We empower our participants to take ownership of their lives and healing by providing the tools to heal and tend the mind, body, and soul. Bottom line: We save and change lives. We use a holistic approach employing cognitive-behavioral instruction, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, nutrition, cathartic activities, and community. Ours is a capacity-building model in that we endeavor to “work ourselves out of a job” by providing our students the skills and practices for self-care, healing, and post-traumatic growth.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Challenges: Getting the right team/staff on board with a shared vision: empowerment, accountability, ownership, warrior mindset vs victim mindset.

– Dialing in the curriculum. Evidence-based, backed by research. Minimum effective dose.

– Funding: individual donors, corporate, foundations, fundraising events

– Brand awareness: marketing, word of mouth

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Professional military officer: leadership, training management, planning and execution

Instructor (education and training): Command and General Staff College, School of Advance Military Studies, Special Forces Officer: classroom instruction, curriculum development, foreign military training

Nonprofit Executive: Programs, development, marketing, administration, strategy, communication, PR

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
First-born: A-type Good student and athlete (wrestler, boxer)

Tenacious, focused.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@warriorsascent.org
• Website: www.warriorsascent.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warriorsascent/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warriorsascent
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCAc6iGmVeTcWA_p7m7kd1g

Image Credits
Mike Kenny