Explore Fortifyu’s Signature Keysnote and Workshop Topics.
Force-Free Leadership:
Building Cultures Where Compassion Doesn't Collapse
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Force-free training transformed how we work with animals. It's time to apply the same principles to how we lead humans.
This keynote bridges two movements that have remained siloed for too long: force-free animal care and trauma-informed organizational leadership. You'll learn why punitive management—the same approaches we've rejected in animal training—is decimating your workforce through turnover, moral injury, and mission drift. More importantly, you'll walk away with practical frameworks for building psychological safety in high-stakes environments where compassion is both the work and the risk.
This isn't theory. It's drawn from 15+ years of clinical trauma work, active shelter volunteering, and organizational consultation with animal care facilities. If you're a leader who embraces force-free principles for animals but haven't yet extended that philosophy to your staff, this presentation will change how you think about retention, culture, and sustainable impact.
Perfect for: Organizations already committed to force-free/Fear Free principles who want to extend that ethic to human care. This is for innovators, not old-guard institutions.
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Force-free training transformed how we work with animals. It's time to apply the same principles to how we lead humans.
This keynote bridges two movements that have remained siloed for too long: force-free animal care and trauma-informed organizational leadership. You'll learn why punitive management—the same approaches we've rejected in animal training—is decimating your workforce through turnover, moral injury, and mission drift. More importantly, you'll walk away with practical frameworks for building psychological safety in high-stakes environments where compassion is both the work and the risk.
This isn't theory. It's drawn from 15+ years of clinical trauma work, active shelter volunteering, and organizational consultation with animal care facilities. If you're a leader who embraces force-free principles for animals but haven't yet extended that philosophy to your staff, this presentation will change how you think about retention, culture, and sustainable impact.
Perfect for: Organizations already committed to force-free/Fear Free principles who want to extend that ethic to human care. This is for innovators, not old-guard institutions.
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Unique Positioning: This is the only keynote that explicitly connects force-free animal care philosophy to trauma-informed organizational leadership. While plenty of speakers talk about "compassion fatigue" generically, this presentation provides a actionable framework rooted in both clinical psychology and lived animal care experience.
Credibility:
Clinical foundation: PhD in Counseling, 15+ years trauma specialization, Licensed Professional Counselor
Field experience: Active volunteer at Michigan's highest-intake shelter—I live the challenges I'm addressing
Research backing: Dissertation research on moral injury provides academic rigor
Real results: Organizations implementing force-free leadership report improved retention, reduced turnover costs, and stronger mission alignment
What Makes It Resonate: Attendees consistently report this feels like "finally, someone who gets it." The presentation validates their exhaustion while refusing to accept the status quo. It's not a pep talk—it's a tactical playbook for cultural transformation.
Audience Profile:
Executive Directors and senior leadership
Shelter managers and operations directors
Veterinary practice managers and hospital administrators
HR professionals in animal care organizations
Board members seeking culture transformation
Anyone responsible for staff retention and organizational health
Audience Size: 30-1,000+ (content scales for intimate leadership retreats or conference main stage)
Beyond Burnout:
Understanding PTSD, Compassion Fatigue, and Moral Injury in Animal Care
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Your staff aren't burned out. They're morally injured. And the difference determines whether your interventions succeed or fail.
This keynote provides diagnostic clarity on three distinct conditions—PTSD, compassion fatigue, and moral injury—that are routinely lumped together as "burnout" in animal care settings. When we misdiagnose the problem, we prescribe the wrong solutions. Self-care workshops don't treat PTSD. Yoga classes don't heal moral injury. And "resilience training" does nothing for compassion fatigue caused by systemic issues.
Dr. McNally breaks down the neuroscience, symptomology, and organizational factors behind each condition, then provides concrete, Monday-morning-implementable strategies for leadership to address root causes rather than symptoms. This isn't about helping individuals cope better with broken systems—it's about fixing the systems that break people.
Drawing on 15+ years of trauma specialization, doctoral research on moral injury, and active frontline shelter work, this presentation delivers the diagnostic framework animal care leadership desperately needs. Attendees leave understanding exactly what's happening to their teams and what actions will actually make a difference.
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Diagnostic Framework
The critical distinction between PTSD, compassion fatigue, and moral injury
How to differentiate three conditions with overlapping symptoms
Why accurate diagnosis determines intervention success
Assessment tools to identify which condition(s) your team members are experiencing
Why "burnout" is an inadequate catch-all term that obscures the real issues
PTSD in Animal Care Contexts
Trauma exposure and its neurological impact
How witnessing animal abuse, cruelty investigations, and violent incidents creates PTSD
Physical injuries from animals that create complicated trauma responses (it wasn't malicious, but it still hurt)
Why some experiences create PTSD while others don't (trauma threshold variability)
Neurobiological changes in the brain and nervous system
Evidence-based treatment approaches (EMDR, somatic therapy, trauma-focused CBT)
Compassion Fatigue Deep Dive
Secondary traumatic stress and empathic distress
The distinction between burnout (gradual depletion) and compassion fatigue (sudden onset)
How bearing witness to suffering impacts the nervous system
Vicarious trauma from clients' stories and animals' histories
The role of organizational culture in amplifying or mitigating compassion fatigue
Why "self-care" alone doesn't work when the workplace is the stressor
Systemic interventions that actually reduce compassion fatigue rates
Moral Injury: The Hidden Epidemic
When values and actions misalign under organizational constraints
The neuroscience of moral injury: what happens when our ethics are violated
How resource limitations create impossible choices that wound the psyche
Public hostility as a source of moral injury ("We're trying to help, and they hate us")
Internal betrayal: when leadership fails to support staff facing ethical dilemmas
Why moral injury can't be "coped with"—it requires systemic change
The three types of moral injury in animal care:
Acts of commission: Doing something that violates values (healthy animal euthanasia)
Acts of omission: Failing to prevent harm (can't afford treatment, turning away animals)
Betrayal: Leadership or system failures that compound ethical wounds
Organizational Risk Factors
What amplifies or mitigates each condition
Leadership practices that increase PTSD, compassion fatigue, and moral injury risk
Protective factors that build resilience without toxic positivity
How staffing patterns, workload distribution, and decision-making structures impact mental health
The role of psychological safety in preventing versus exacerbating these conditions
Why some organizations with similar resources have vastly different staff wellbeing outcomes
Actionable Leadership Strategies
Concrete steps leadership can take Monday morning
Immediate interventions for staff showing symptoms of each condition
Policy changes that address root causes, not just symptoms
Communication frameworks for acknowledging and validating staff experiences
Resource allocation decisions that reduce moral injury triggers
When and how to bring in external support (EAP, trauma therapists, organizational consultants)
Creating organizational structures that distribute ethical burden rather than concentrating it on individuals
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Unique Positioning
The only framework distinguishing these three conditions specifically for animal care contexts. While plenty of speakers talk generically about "burnout" or "compassion fatigue," Dr. McNally provides diagnostic precision that transforms how organizations understand and respond to workforce mental health crises.
Most wellness speakers operate from a deficit model—assuming individuals need to build more resilience. This presentation operates from a systemic model—organizations create the conditions that harm or heal. The focus shifts from "how can workers cope better?" to "what must leadership change?"
Credibility Foundation
Academic rigor meets lived experience:
PhD-level research: Dissertation on moral injury provides theoretical framework
Clinical expertise: 15+ years treating PTSD, trauma, and complex grief
Frontline reality: Active shelter volunteer making the same impossible choices audience faces
Certification depth: Compassion Fatigue Specialist, EMDR training, trauma therapy specializations
Research-backed content: Every claim is supported by peer-reviewed research, yet delivered in accessible language that resonates emotionally. This isn't an academic lecture—it's practical application of sophisticated concepts.
What Makes It Resonate
Attendees consistently report this feels like "finally, someone who gets it."
The presentation validates experiences that are often minimized:
"You're not weak for struggling—you're responding normally to abnormal circumstances"
"Self-care isn't the answer when the system is broken"
"Your organization's turnover problem is a leadership problem, not a hiring problem"
The tone is direct, compassionate, and unflinching. No toxic positivity. No platitudes about "finding the joy" in difficult work. Just honest assessment of what's broken and evidence-based strategies for fixing it.
Immediate Applicability
Unlike conceptual presentations that leave audiences inspired but unclear on next steps, this keynote provides:
Specific assessment questions to determine which condition(s) staff are experiencing
Decision trees for matching interventions to conditions
Policy templates for debriefing protocols and ethical decision-making frameworks
Communication scripts for leadership acknowledging staff struggles
Resource lists for external support options
Leadership teams can implement changes the following week, not "someday when we have time."
The Ethical Wound:
When Good People Are Forced to Do Bad Things
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Every day, animal care workers make impossible choices that violate their deepest values…and carry the ethical residue for years.
This isn't burnout. It's moral injury. And it happens when organizational constraints force good people into situations where every available option violates their ethics.
This keynote goes deeper than generic “transgression-self” event to address this unique type of moral injury, including a root cause: value-action misalignment under conditions of scarcity. Dr. McNally provides frameworks for ethical decision-making when there are no good choices, protocols for processing moral remainder, and strategies for distributing ethical burden across teams instead of concentrating it on individuals.
Drawing on moral injury research originally developed for military contexts and adapted specifically for animal care settings, this presentation names the wound that conventional therapy overlooks. Attendees learn why "right" decisions still leave psychological scars, how to make values-based choices under impossible constraints, and what organizations must do to prevent moral injury from destroying their workforce.
This is the presentation for organizations ready to acknowledge that the problem isn't individual resilience: it's systemic conditions that guarantee ethical wounds.
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The definition and origins of moral injury (military → healthcare → animal care)
The three types of moral injury in animal care:
Transgression-Self events
Transgression-Other events
Betrayal
Other contributing factors based on the psychology of morality literature
Neuroscience of moral injury: what happens in the brain when values and actions misalign
The "moral injury signature" vs. PTSD vs. compassion fatigue (diagnostic clarity)
Organizational policies that CREATE vs. PREVENT moral injury
Why individual therapy isn't enough: systemic change is required
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Unique Positioning
The only framework exploring that looks honestly at what happens when we betray our own values. This explore complicity and transgression-self events for animal care contexts. While plenty of speakers talk “compassion fatigue”, The Ethical Wound explores something else entirely and gives new insights into what is needed to respond to workforce mental health crises in animal care settings.
This presentation operates from a systemic model and with strong foundations in the psychology of morality literature to help staff and leadership understand what they are actually experiencing when they feel guilt, shame, or emotional numbness, dissociation, and isolation.
When the Public Becomes the Predator:
Addressing Hostility, Harassment, and Vicarious Trauma in Animal Care
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Animal care workers don't just witness animal suffering—they endure public attacks, social media harassment, death threats, and accusations of "killing animals" while trying to save them. This systemic hostility constitutes a unique form of occupational trauma that organizations are failing to address. Combines trauma expertise + lived experience with public hostility (as shelter volunteer) This presentation addresses phenomenon where workers are traumatized by helping and integrates moral injury (value misalignment when public doesn't understand your work).
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What Your Audience Will Learn:
Why public hostility constitutes vicarious trauma (not just "mean comments")
The psychological impact of being called a "murderer" for euthanizing unadoptable animals
Social media as trauma amplifier—why one viral post can destroy staff morale
Secondary effects: staff become defensive, compassion collapses, mission suffers
Organizational protocols for protecting staff from public attacks
When to respond vs. when to block—communication frameworks
Legal considerations (threats, defamation, harassment)
Collective healing after public incidents
How public hostility creates moral injury ("We're trying to help, and they hate us for it")
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This is the only presentation deep-diving into this topic that impacts everyone in animal care. This is a timely topic because social media has amplified this problem exponentially. Despite this, organizations have no protocols for this, and staff are leaving the field because of public hostility, not the animal work.
Building Resilient Teams:
Strategies for Preventing Moral Injury
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Every day, teams navigate emotionally charged decisions, resource limitations, compassion fatigue, and the impossible tension between what they want to do for animals and what they can do within systemic constraints. These pressures can erode well-being, strain team dynamics, and ultimately lead to moral injury: a deep, identity-level wound that affects judgment, resilience, and long-term sustainability in the field.
This is a hands-on workshop where leadership teams assess moral injury risk factors, identify ethical friction points in workflows, and build implementation plans tailored to their organization. Participants leave with a customized risk assessment, ready-to-use debriefing protocol, and 90-day action plan.
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Early identification & Prevention strategies
Building protective factors that buffer against chronic stress
Developing shared language and norms that increase cohesion
Techniques for grounding, emotional regulation, and “resetting” after tough days
Leadership Approaches That Prevent Harm
How leaders can create conditions that reduce moral load
Structure, policy, and workflow shifts that make an immediate difference
Evidence-based methods for cultivating a culture of compassion, transparency, and accountability
Tools to Bring Back to the Organization
A framework for healthy debriefing
Scripts and communication templates for high-stress moments
Individual and team resilience plans customized to animal care work
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Designed Specifically for Animal Care Work
This is not a generic wellness presentation. Every concept, tool, and strategy is tailored to the realities of sheltering, veterinary practice, rescue operations, and animal welfare leadership.
Practical, Immediate, and Sustainable
Participants leave with tools they can use the very same day: scripts, checklists, team exercises, and operational adjustments proven to reduce burnout and strengthen emotional fortitude.
Rooted in Empathy and Cultural Competence
This workshop acknowledges the high-stakes emotional decisions, systemic barriers, and identity-level pressures unique to animal care workers, validating their experience while giving them a path forward.
For Teams Who Want to Elevate Their Culture
Instead of treating burnout as an individual problem, this approach helps organizations shape a culture of resilience, psychological safety, and integrity-driven teamwork.
Peer-to-Peer Support Training:
Democratizing Mental Health Support for Animal Care Teams
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Animal care professionals rely heavily on each other to navigate emotionally complex, high-stress environments. Yet most teams are not given the training or structure needed to support one another safely, effectively, and sustainably.
Blending clinical insight with the lived experiences of animal care workers, this session teaches staff and leaders how to identify distress in peers, respond in ways that reduce harm, and cultivate a shared culture of emotional presence and integrity. By democratizing access to psychological support, organizations strengthen team cohesion, reduce burnout, and build a more resilient and connected workplace.
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The Role of Peer Support in High-Stress Work
Why peer support is essential in animal care environments
The science behind social buffering and emotional co-regulation
How to Recognize Distress in Colleagues
Behavioral, emotional, and somatic cues
The difference between stress, overwhelm, moral distress, and trauma signals
3. Foundational Peer Support Skills
Trauma-informed listening
Co-regulation strategies
Grounding without rescuing
Non-judgmental presence and boundary setting
Creating a Sustainable Peer Support Culture
How to establish team norms
Scripts and communication tools for difficult moments
How to offer support without overextending yourself
5. What to Do When a Peer Needs More Than Peer Support
When and how to escalate concerns
How to connect teammates to professional support safely and ethically
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Research-informed approach developed by a clinician, trauma specialist, and moral injury researcher
Tailored specifically for animal care environments, not generic wellness content
Practical, script-based tools that staff can use immediately
Empowering, not clinical. This training democratizes skills across the team
Emphasizes safety, boundaries, and sustainability, avoiding the pitfalls of informal emotional labor
Navigating Public Hostility:
Communication Strategies for Animal Care Professionals
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Animal care professionals frequently face public criticism, heightened emotions, misinformation, and online hostility, all if which creates additional emotional labor that compounds the already immense pressures of their work. This workshop equips teams with trauma-informed, psychologically safe communication strategies for navigating difficult conversations both in person and online.
Participants learn how to respond to anger or grief without absorbing it, how to de-escalate tense interactions, and how to set boundaries that protect their energy and integrity. With a blend of behavioral science, communication psychology, and real-world animal care expertise, this session helps staff maintain professionalism, compassion, and clarity…even in the face of hostility.
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Understanding the Roots of Public Hostility
Why animal issues evoke extreme emotions
How grief, guilt, and moral outrage show up in public communication
The difference between emotional distress and true hostility
2. Trauma-Informed Communication Strategies
How to respond to anger without defensiveness
Language patterns that de-escalate conflict
How to stay grounded when conversations become emotionally charged
3. Boundary Setting & Safe Redirection
Scripts for redirecting harmful behavior
Professional boundaries that protect staff wellbeing
How to protect time, emotional energy, and psychological safety
4. Handling Online Hostility
Responding to misinformation
Managing social media storms
Protecting staff identity and mental health
Knowing when not to engage
5. Team-Based Responses & Organizational Preparedness
Creating communication protocols for high-risk situations
Supporting staff after hostile encounters
Turning hostile interactions into opportunities for education and transparency
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Addresses both emotional and operational dimensions of hostility
Provides scripts and templates for staff to use immediately
Focuses on psychological safety, not “customer service”
Empowers staff with confident, compassionate communication skills that protect wellbeing
Speaking Formats & Options
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30-90 minute main stage presentations for 50-1000+ attendees
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Half-day, full-day, or multi-day intensive workshops for executive teams
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Customizable workshops for entire organizational staff
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Available to moderate or participate in expert panels on animal welfare workforce issues
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Zoom keynotes and webinars for distributed teams or national audiences
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Equip your leadership to deliver ongoing education using my frameworks
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Multi-session engagements to assess and transform workplace culture (premium offering)
BOOK JAMIE TO SPEAK
Jamie’s Signature Keynote and Workshop Topics?
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