At Journey You Own, we believe that leadership is an intentional practice, a way of being that shapes how we show up in the world. The JYO-Maddie’s Fund Leadership Program is not your traditional leadership course. It was born from a vision shared with Maddie’s Fund, whose generosity and belief in transformative learning made this program possible. This initiative is about more than developing skills; it’s about fundamentally shifting how leadership is cultivated in animal welfare.
Why This, Why Now?
The landscape of animal welfare is evolving, and so are its challenges. We are witnessing burnout at unprecedented levels, misalignment between values and action, and a need for leaders who can hold complexity with curiosity, compassion, and courage. Traditional leadership models often emphasize efficiency, hierarchy, and skill acquisition – but what if leadership could be something more?
This program was designed to deepen self-awareness, build intentionality, and foster interdependence. It invites participants to explore what it means to lead from a place of alignment, integrity, and generative communication within their organizations as well as in their own lives.
A Different Approach to Leadership
Rather than a linear path of skill-building, our leadership course unfolds as an experiential, reflective, and deeply personal journey. Each participant is paired with a dedicated coach, offering one-on-one guidance to navigate the challenges, questions, and resistance that naturally arise when stepping into leadership with intention.
Participants explore themes such as:
- Intention, Personal Mastery and Integrity
- Completion
- Values Alignment
- Strategic Leadership
- Data & Metrics
- Organizational Alignment
- Generative Communication
- Interdependence
The structure of the program is deliberately non-traditional. It asks participants to engage deeply, to sit with discomfort, and to lean into a new way of learning. Insights do not come in neatly packaged lessons, but in the spaces between the conversations, in the moments of reflection, and in the willingness to unlearn as much as we learn.
Transforming Animal Welfare from the Inside Out
The reality is that systemic change begins within us. The way we care for ourselves, the way we show up for our teams, and the way we engage with our communities all ripple outward. If we want animal welfare to evolve – to be more just, more sustainable, more humane for the people who work within it – we must start by redefining how we lead.
The heart of the JYO-Maddie’s Fund Leadership Program is in cultivating leaders who understand that change is not just about strategy and policy, but about awareness, courage, and connection. It is about fostering a new kind of leadership in animal welfare —one that is deeply human, profoundly impactful, and fundamentally sustainable.
We are grateful to Maddie’s Fund for seeing this vision and making it a reality.