Dawn D. Gary- Tryba

I put myself through college while working full-time at a financial services firm, and I was the first child in my family to go to college. I knew the importance of both academia and real-life experience, so my path took me on an opportunity to get business experience while going to school. I worked in the financial services industry in various marketing, business development, and communication roles, just trying to absorb everything I could. That took me to very executive roles and senior level positions, primarily within the same firm where I had just elevated over time. I was traveling 90% of the time with a remote team all over the country, working in Manhattan while living in Wisconsin, and I was burnt out. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor, I reflected a lot on who I am as a person and where I want to go. I walked in and quit this big, cushy job with a black car and travel and all my stuff in order to get back to who I am as a person and take care of myself. Through that process, I was able to reflect and find myself, and I realized I love helping people but also love tapping into the academia and business experience I had. I went on a path to become credentialed in coaching and consulting, realizing I needed to get some letters behind my name to show credibility. I slowly started building my firm, and right now I have 40 alliance partners of coaches and consultants that we deploy out to different clients. I found my intersection of person, passion, and profit, and in my second year we grew by 1800% in revenue.