Ryan Woodruff shares his journey from a rootless childhood to finding purpose as CEO of Clear Path for Veterans, an organization dedicated to helping veterans transition from military to civilian life.
• Moving frequently as a child created a desire for community and led to military enlistment at 17
• Deployed to Iraq twice during Operation Iraqi Freedom, facing combat and losing fellow Marines
• Military culture discouraged discussing mental health issues, leading to suppression and unhealthy coping
• Struggled with alcoholism, isolation, and finding purpose after leaving the service
• Found healing through community, spirituality, and Clear Path's service dog program
• Service dogs provide unique support for veterans with PTSD by responding to anxiety signals
• Dogs act as social facilitators, helping veterans connect with the community
• Clear Path offers holistic support, including peer mentoring, career services, and nationally available programs
• Now, as CEO, he focuses on creating stability for his children while expanding Clear Path's impact
If you're a veteran struggling with transition or know someone who is, reach out to Clear Path for Veterans. They offer programs nationally and are working to expand their digital presence to reach more veterans and their families in the USA.
Let's enjoy Ryan's story.
clearpath4vets.com
https://www.instagram.com/clearpath4vets
https://www.facebook.com/ClearPathForVeterans
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Daniela SM (00:01):
Hi, I'm Daniela.
Welcome to my podcast, becauseEveryone has a Story, the place
to give ordinary people'sstories the chance to be shared
and preserved.
Our stories become the languageof connections.
Let's enjoy, connect and relate, because everyone has a story.
Our guest is Ryan Woodruff, athoughtful and deeply kind human
(00:24):
being whose insights stay withme long after a conversation
ended.
His story is powerful not justbecause of what he's been
through, but because of the wayhe shares it.
During our time together, heshared his journey from serving
in the Marines to leading anonprofit that supports veterans
(00:44):
in finding healing and purpose.
It is a conversation aboutstruggle, resilience and the
quiet strength that comes fromshowing up for others.
I am honored to share it withyou, so let's enjoy Ryan's story
.
Welcome, ryan, to the show.
Ryan Woodruff (01:01):
Thanks for having me Appreciate it.
Daniela SM (01:03):
Yes, yes, I'm super interested in the story that
you're going to share.
So why do you want to shareyour story?
Ryan Woodruff (01:09):
So I learned over several years of just going
through my own challenges howimportant it was to hear someone
else's story to be.
On the other end of that, A lotof my growth I could directly
correlate with those that werewilling to be vulnerable enough
to share some of their lifelessons, and if there's anything
that I could say that resonateswith somebody from my story, I
(01:32):
would just like to pass that on.
Daniela SM (01:34):
And I appreciate that, because it's true, when we
share our stories, we don'thave to be famous To do that.
I think everybody has a storyand it is important that we
share it for others.
Ryan Woodruff (01:43):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Daniela SM (01:44):
And so when does your story start?
Ryan Woodruff (01:46):
Like everybody, my path started when I was a
child Growing up.
I was never rooted in one placefor a long enough time for me
to establish a community.
And as a young boy growing upand the biggest challenge I
found with moving around a lotas a kid was getting into a
social circle, rooting myself ina support network of people
(02:07):
that wanted better for me, and Iknow now that because of that
it led to a lot of inhibitionand some confidence issues and
it was a struggle.
As far back as I can remember,my biggest support system was my
family, so my mother and mybrother.
My mom raised us as a singleparent and it was tough growing
up.
They divorced at a young ageand pretty much just was with
(02:32):
mom my whole life.
Daniela SM (02:34):
Oh, you're moving around and you don't know where
that community is Interesting.
Ryan Woodruff (02:38):
Yeah, state by state too.
I mean we were bouncing arounddifferent school districts so I
was repeatedly the new kid and Ithink that just became part of
my identity.
We were rapidly jumping fromplace to place.
My mom was trying to providefor us and find careers
everywhere we went and it wasjust a struggle.
At some point.
I think that contributed to alot of avoidance for me, and it
(03:01):
was certainly at that young agethat I really developed an
affinity for the militaryculture because I felt like how
could you be more rooted inanything else other than, you
know, enlisting in the military?
You move around a lot, for sure, but you're part of a
fraternity and a community thatis all after a typically a
(03:21):
singular mission and so like,really right out of the get-go,
a lot of you know early on,early childhood just, I think,
really steered me in thatdirection.
Daniela SM (03:31):
And so after high school, you enrolled right away.
Ryan Woodruff (03:34):
Yeah, actually, during high school, I enlisted
as soon as I turned 17.
As far back as I can remember Iwanted to go in.
The Marine.
Corps Spoke to me in waysnothing else did.
I didn't really do well inschool, if I'm being honest.
I mean, I would also attributethe moving around a lot to not
doing well academically.
And I felt most connected whenI was within nature.
(03:57):
I really loved being out in thewoods and hanging out outside.
I spent all of my childhoodoutside.
I really rarely was stuck infront of a TV or anything like
that.
You know, the military reallyjust spoke to my spirit.
It's something I really wantedto do.
So as soon as I got theopportunity, I found a recruiter
and I enlisted.
My mother signed the papershappened to be at the height of
(04:18):
Operation Iraqi Freedom, so Iknew full well that I'd be
deploying to Iraq shortly afterI enlisted as well.
Daniela SM (04:26):
How was that experience?
Was it everything you thoughtit would be?
Ryan Woodruff (04:29):
Honestly, it was nothing that I thought it would
be.
So, you know, going into themilitary was exactly what I
thought it would be.
You know I did enough researchin my time growing up that you
know I knew exactly what toexpect.
I was physically fit.
I really studied militaryculture a lot.
I knew everything I needed toknow before I went to boot camp.
(04:52):
And you know, to be honest,people talk about boot camp
being really hard.
I didn't find it superdifficult.
I just you had to move fast, dowhat you were told and speak
very loudly, and that was easyfor me.
Following orders was never aproblem.
The biggest challenge was themental struggle.
You're immersed in a completelydifferent culture.
You're separated from your home, you're put in front of a bunch
(05:16):
of people you've never metbefore, and it was what I
expected.
But really, when things beganto change for me was when I
actually left boot camp.
I graduated, I became a Marineand I finished my infantry
training and I ended up beingattached to my unit, 3rd
(05:37):
Battalion, 2nd Marines, in CampLejeune, north Carolina, and I
felt like I had to bereinitiated all over again.
That was just a whole chapterthat I didn't foresee.
I thought that becoming aMarine was it?
You know, once you're in,you're part of the brotherhood,
and it just wasn't the case.
A lot of the people in my unithad already deployed to Iraq, so
(05:58):
they had come back with combatexperience.
Automatically disqualifies theyounger guy joining right
Because they hadn't been yet,they hadn't done their time
overseas, and so, yet again, Ihad to go through this
initiation, which certainlywasn't easy.
Big mental game, really.
For the next seven months afterI got out of bootcamp was all
training, just getting ready togo to Iraq.
Daniela SM (06:21):
Oh, so they went back again.
Ryan Woodruff (06:23):
Yeah, actually, the first time I deployed was in
2006, just turned 19.
And I look back and I'm likeholy moly, I can't believe to
have gone through thoseexperiences at such a young age.
And I look at the kids outtoday and I just couldn't
imagine some of them being putin an environment like that.
But it was the path I chose andnonetheless, put in an
(06:46):
environment like that.
But it was the path I chose andnonetheless we deployed and I
spent seven months in Al-Anbarprovince, iraq.
It's right between Fallujah andRamadi.
Some of your listeners might befamiliar with that area and it
was a lot of friction in thatspace.
At the time the unit that wewere replacing faced heavy
losses and we knew that we weregoing into a very turbulent
territory.
So when I first got there Ididn't know what to expect.
(07:07):
I was prepared for the worst.
That's something that I wastaught at an early stage in my
military career was just alwaysexpect things to be hard and
you'll never be disappointed.
Unfortunately, that carriedwith me even until the point
where I got out of the service.
In that deployment we werefaced with a lot of combat,
small arms fire, sniper fire,ambushes, improvised explosive
(07:31):
devices and unfortunately noteverybody I left with came home
with me.
Daniela SM (07:35):
Wow, that must have been hard and traumatic in a
way.
Ryan Woodruff (07:39):
Yeah, extremely.
I mean there were so manydifferent events that occurred
during that seven monthdeployment that I would
contribute to a lot of thefeelings I had really post
deployment.
Do the job, focus on themission and the objective and
put your blinders on and notreally focus too much on the
(08:08):
emotional component that you'recarrying.
They actually really programyou to suppress a lot of that.
To be honest with you, anytimeyou speak of things that would
compromise your mental health,that puts you at risk of being
kicked out of the military.
So at an early stage you'retaught suppression just in the
subculture.
(08:28):
I wouldn't say that's theoverall arching message.
But anybody that I was servingwith boots on the ground
basically said don't sayanything, don't talk about your
nightmares, about not sleeping.
Certainly don't admit that youhave an alcohol problem, because
it doesn't put you down a goodpath.
You could end up getting kickedout of the military and then
you'll struggle to find a job.
(08:49):
So we really all just kept ourmouths shut, you know, and did
our job, said that we were okay,no problems, and it's just.
It's crazy.
I mean I'm reading this bookright now.
It's called Gates of Fire andit's about you know this
historical reference of theSpartans going to Thermopylae
you know ancient battle and ittalks about how each of them
(09:10):
were provided a ticket.
This ticket split in half.
It was like a necklace and onone end was their battle heart
and self, which entered intocombat.
But before they went into warthey would give this other
ticket back to their commandingofficer and say, like, hold on
to this.
Upon the close of these battlesthey would get their other
(09:30):
ticket and be over immersed likewith emotion, right, because
they survived the battle.
Those that survived got boththeir tickets and put them
together.
And I just read this recentlyand it just really stuck out to
me because that really itresembles well military culture
today.
As you go to deploy in a combatzone, you pretty much you just
(09:50):
go in and you do it and youdon't think about all the other
stuff and the military, whatI'll say doesn't do well is
prepare you for the weight ofall of that after you return
home.
That is something that took mewell over a decade to wrestle
with and overcome.
I would say I mean, honestly,that's something that we're all
still struggling with.
It's kind of a lifelong thing.
(10:12):
Recovery and growth arecertainly available, but it's
something that you always haveto be mindful of.
Daniela SM (10:17):
Yes, so many.
I mean, I don't have theexperience that you have.
What I'm feeling that I have isthat they prepare you really
well, they want you to go tocombat and then when you come
back it doesn't seem there is aspace for any of you and you see
all these veterans reallystruggling and it's just very
sad because they are reallysmart people capable of many
(10:37):
things, but the intensity isnever going to compare with any
other jobs in regular world.
So that's also similar.
Similar, I will say, and I'mafraid to compare, but to be an
Olympian, they are so intense ontheir training.
Ryan Woodruff (10:50):
Yeah, I mean the skills and experience you
develop.
Four years in the infantry andtwo combat deployments doesn't
translate a whole lot to reallife in the domestic territory,
back in your nation and gettinginto a career field.
That it's not the same, similarto somebody that really makes
it to the top in the sportsarena and the adrenaline that
(11:13):
they receive and the crowds andthe winning.
It's it's.
There's a lot of similaritiesto being in combat and
firefights and having your youknow, your cortisol and fight or
flight response constantly allthe way up, you know, as far as
scaling goes, and when I got outI thought I was going to just
get a job as a police officer.
(11:33):
That I would just, you know,because of my experience here.
There seemed to be nothing elsethat would translate based on
those skillsets.
So I would be a cop.
But you know if police forcethat I was applying for wasn't
hiring at the time.
So I had a choice to make.
I could either continue topursue law enforcement or take a
(11:54):
different direction.
And so after I got out it wasreally like a tornado of just
trying to figure out this nextpath for myself.
After I left the Marine Corps Iwas excited to be a civilian.
I couldn't wait to be done.
Those experiences that I livedand the brothers that I lost and
the fact that I made it backfrom what I experienced really
(12:16):
changed my viewpoint on life andjust not to take anything for
granted, I was really gratefuljust to breathe fresh air and be
out of the desert and be backin America, back home, where
there was green grass and therewas people that weren't trying
to kill me.
I tried to figure out what thisnext path was going to be, but
(12:37):
I realized very quickly that Icouldn't relate to anybody.
It was very difficult for me toestablish community.
The kids I was going to collegewith.
There was nothing that them orI could identify with and it was
just very difficult to figurethat out.
People that I found goodcompany with were other veterans
, just connecting with otherveterans, and it was very
(12:59):
isolating.
For a long time I struggled withalcoholism for you know, I
would say even before I got outof the service, that became a
strong coping mechanism for me.
I would never admit that I gotout of the service.
That became a strong copingmechanism for me.
I would never admit that I hadan alcohol problem at the time.
I certainly know now that thatwas a huge problem for me,
because it was the only thingthat would help me feel better
(13:19):
about myself.
You do that for so long and itjust becomes part of your fabric
.
It's like a reflexive response.
It gets worse and worse andworse, and that certainly was
the case for me.
I was functional, I was goingto school, I was getting great
grades and everything else, butI was lacking in so much and I
felt empty inside.
It wasn't until I foundClearPath that I really
(13:42):
understood that community wasjust so important, something
missing in my life, and I had tobecome very vulnerable in some
of the things I was experiencing, to ever cross these bridges,
to integrating back into society.
Daniela SM (13:55):
So you were seven months in combat.
You came back and then youdecided to leave.
Ryan Woodruff (14:00):
Actually, I did another tour to Iraq.
So I came back, we trainedagain for another seven months,
I deployed again, spent anotherseven months in Iraq and then,
after my second deployment, Ihad less than a year left in my
four-year contract.
So I had a decision to make.
I could either re-enlist andstay in the military or I could
(14:21):
get out.
And it was very easy for me atthat point to decide to get out
of the service and in June 2009,I was honorably discharged.
Daniela SM (14:30):
So that you have a contract for four years that you
have to follow, and thenafterwards you can leave or stay
.
Ryan Woodruff (14:36):
Yes.
Daniela SM (14:36):
Okay, so you left and then you went to college and
to study what?
Ryan Woodruff (14:40):
I ended up studying natural resources and
forestry.
Daniela SM (14:42):
Okay.
Ryan Woodruff (14:43):
Wow, because you know, like I said, growing up I
really had a deep affinity fornature and since law enforcement
wasn't working out, I figuredthis would be the next best
thing.
That led me down a completelydifferent path.
I ended up developing multipleskill sets, one of which is I
became an arborist.
So I was a tree climber,working in small teams really
difficult work, pushing 10, 12hour days, you know, making 12
(15:05):
bucks an hour that was what mycollege degree provided me with
at the time is it was a templatethat I fell into and I stuck
with for five or six years.
You know, something I didn'tmention is my time in the
military really did physicallyinjure me over that prolonged
period of just high intensitywork, wearing 200 pounds of gear
(15:26):
, being in close proximity toexplosions, jumping gates and
fences, being an infantry Marine.
It comes with a cost, andusually that is your mind and
your body for sure, and thethings that I experienced in
that timeframe just expedited myphysical limitations much
quicker than normally.
So after getting out and thendoing this time in forestry, I
(15:50):
just continued to break my body.
To be honest with you, itwasn't until I went to a doctor
and I said I'm having a lot ofproblems with my back and my
shoulder keeps dislocating whenI'm climbing these trees and
just having all sorts of theseproblems and these comorbidities
.
And he said yeah well, yourback looks like something we'd
see if you were 70, not 30.
All of that weight that youwere carrying in the military
(16:12):
has really just destroyed yourspine.
You're going to want to thinkabout changing your career
trajectory.
And then again I'm kind ofthrown out into the atmosphere
and I had to pivot yet again andso it was a lot to take in and
I'm just I just part of mewanted to go back in the
military.
I just felt like I wasn'tfinding a place to belong, super
(16:33):
isolating and the only thing Iknew at that point and I felt
like I just needed to go back in.
I actually tried to go backinto the military and they they
wouldn't take me.
At that point in time I wasalready beyond the age that was
acceptable and some of thephysical limitations that I had
were just deemed unworthy ofgetting through the physical
checkups and all those types ofthings at that time.
(16:56):
So I had to figure out what wasnext for me.
Daniela SM (16:59):
Wow, that's a challenge for sure, looking for
community and not able to fitanywhere.
Ryan Woodruff (17:04):
Yeah.
Daniela SM (17:04):
And so then, what happened?
What did you do?
Ryan Woodruff (17:07):
So, by chance, a friend of mine was working with
this organization that helpsveterans navigate their
transition from military tocivilian culture.
He was running an employmentprogram helping veterans find
jobs and he said, hey, we'relooking for somebody like
yourself that has combatexperience, has transitioned out
of the military successfullyand can help other veterans
(17:29):
navigate these unique challenges.
And so I was like that soundsgreat.
I mean, that sounds like ameaningful job where I could
find purpose and identity again.
So I applied for this positionand I got this job with Clear
Path for Veterans as a peermentor.
That was almost 10 years ago atthis point, and it's been a
huge transformation since I'vebeen there.
Daniela SM (17:50):
When you got in there.
You realized then that you weredrinking too much.
Ryan Woodruff (17:53):
Yeah, shortly after I was with the
organization for about eightmonths, I actually enrolled into
their service dog program as arecipient.
Through that experience, Istarted to take a pretty deep
look in the mirror and askmyself here I am trying to be an
ambassador for other veteranstransitioning out of service,
but I've not yet overcome someof my own barriers and some of
(18:17):
my own challenges.
I was building a family, I gotmarried.
I had children.
I started to weigh the gravityof what I could potentially lose
as well.
I quit drinking cold turkey andI've been sober since.
This is back in 2017.
So I think it's been a littleover eight years.
You know what I'll say aboutthat is it didn't fix all my
(18:37):
problems, to be honest with you.
I had to rediscover myselfbecause I had been drinking
alcohol for so long that Ididn't know how to be any
different without it, and so myconfidence took a big dive.
I didn't have anything to copewith anymore.
There was no medications oranything that were really
helping me with my mental health, and I really had to push
(18:58):
through some significantadversity to learn what it was
to be who I was without alcohol,and that took a couple of years
, but it was absolutelynecessary.
It was one of those steps in myjourney and a chapter that I
had to overcome in order to getto where I am today.
Daniela SM (19:14):
I can imagine, in this job that you're having now,
you have met a lot of peoplesimilar to you with similar
situations, but you seem to callturkey, have fixed things and
I'm sure you're still in theprocess, but what do you think
is the difference between youand other people that have
noticed that I was strugglingand in a dark space?
Ryan Woodruff (19:54):
And they invited me into a social group and I
started to attend this weeklygroup for well it's been over
six years now, but it just tookan invitation to go to this
group and start talking withthese guys and that was,
honestly, the first time Iexperienced somebody else
(20:14):
sharing their, their story withme, and the deep vulnerability
and just willingness to put itall out on the table and then
talk about what they're doingnow was immensely healing for me
.
I couldn't there's no words todescribe it but it's the first
time I actually felt welcome inan environment and to be, you
know, to be willing to be openand honest in such a deeply
(20:38):
vulnerable way was admirable tome.
It still took me a long time tocross that bridge myself.
I mean, I was with the groupfor probably three months before
I even opened my mouth and saidanything, but I was just
attending.
You know it wasn't alcoholicsand ominous, but I could see
that there's a lot of peoplethat find a lot of healing in
groups like that as well.
But community was 100%, andjust being connected to people
(21:03):
that would surround themselvesaround you and want better for
your situation was a hugehealing for me.
That and all the things that Iwas experiencing at ClearPath.
Daniela SM (21:13):
So this group was mainly to share your feelings.
Ryan Woodruff (21:16):
Yeah, and it was spiritually based, so it was a
Christian fellowship and wewould, you know, we would really
talk about our own stories andthen we would tie it to
scripture in some respects andtalk about like, how do we do
life?
You know what?
What's the what?
You know what you're dealingwith right now?
(21:37):
Is there something we canrelate it to biblically that
could help your situation?
And I didn't grow up in a, youknow, very strong faith
background or anything like that.
It was somewhat surface level.
It wasn't something that I wasvery strongly attached to, but
it was definitely this thatopened up some doors for me that
I felt okay and comfortablestepping into.
Daniela SM (21:57):
And then also some resilience from your part as
well to overcome and go throughall these things in a different
way than other people, I guess.
Ryan Woodruff (22:05):
Yeah, I mean, at the same time I was working with
other veterans and a lot ofthese veterans I was working
with were homeless.
They couldn't put food on thetable, they were facing
substance abuse.
It was really humbling and itwas just eye-opening that there
were so many out there thatreally needed help and they were
looking to us for that resource.
So it was just a catalyst forchange, you know, for for me to
(22:28):
change things within myself sothat I could be better for these
others.
And, um, like I said, at thesame time I went through this
canine program to be placed witha service dog and that
experience was, I mean extremely, I mean very transformative.
There's something aboutconnecting with a dog on the
other end of a leash that'sindescribable.
I mean, one of the trainerstold me at the time she was
(22:52):
actually the founder of ClearPath that, like your dog, is an
inner reflection of youremotional state.
So once you get a bettercontrol over how you're feeling,
the training is going to gobetter.
And then again I'm being taughtall of these little mini life
lessons, you know, throughcommunity, through dog training,
(23:12):
through peer support, and itwas really an all-inclusive,
holistic approach that it tookseveral years, but all of this I
would attribute to being ableto overcome a lot of these
challenges.
Daniela SM (23:27):
Yes, I've heard that dogs take the people's
personality.
Ryan Woodruff (23:32):
They do and they have incredible intuition.
They pick up on things.
It's why the human-animal bondis so important in the work that
we do.
They're able to respond todifferent mental health
challenges that veterans arefacing and they perform specific
tasks to help mitigate that.
And when you actually see thisin real time, it's incredible.
(23:53):
There's nothing like it, and alot of the times when these
veterans are experiencing thisfor the first time, it brings
them to tears because a dog thathas been trained to do this
work is performing thesespecialized tasks to help them
feel better.
And it's just really incredible.
Daniela SM (24:09):
So you are training them, that's your dog, or you
train dogs to give it to otherpeople.
Ryan Woodruff (24:14):
We do a little bit of both.
So when I started it was adifferent model where they would
place us with a dog from theshelter and we would train it
for two years as the veterangoing through the program.
And we would train it for twoyears as the veteran going
through the program and then thegoal was for that dog to meet
all of the criteria to become afully trained service dog.
(24:34):
And through my own experience Irealized that there was a lot
of things we could do betterwithin that program.
It actually helped me discoverthat I wanted to become a dog
trainer and I went to school forthat.
And through that process andjust all the learning that I've
done and networking with otherproviders that are doing this
work, I learned that trainingthe dog beforehand is a much
better path to helping them besuccessful.
(24:57):
So now we're raising puppiesfrom seven weeks all the way to
two years.
We're doing all of the trainingand then we're bringing
veterans in to be partnered withthese dogs.
Daniela SM (25:09):
And what happened with these dogs and the veterans
?
Ryan Woodruff (25:13):
They'll go through, do they?
Daniela SM (25:13):
go home with their dog or they come to visit you.
Ryan Woodruff (25:17):
They'll go home with the veteran, they'll go
back to their community.
They do about three weeks oftraining with us.
So wherever they are in thecountry, we'll bring them to
central New York and do thisthree weeks of training, and the
idea there is to provide themwith all of the information that
we provided that dog within twoyears.
So that's it's a lot.
I mean, it's eight hours a dayfor these for this time of
(25:38):
intensive training.
But the you know theinteresting thing is that when
we're placing the dog with aveteran, there's nothing we can
do up front to measurecompatibility, and you really
got to get them there to see ifthe dog is going to be
compatible with the veteran.
So we'll have between two andthree dogs available and the
trainers are, for the first week, just really assessing if
(26:00):
there's a match, a good matchfor the veteran, and they have
to be in person to see that.
And beforehand we're alsotraining that dog to be
specifically tailor trained forthe veteran.
So you know we're asking themquestions like if you're
experiencing a panic attack,what does that look like?
Are you bouncing your knee upand down?
Are you messing with yourwedding band?
(26:22):
Are you touching your face?
And then we're training the dogto respond to that picture by
doing some complex task.
So there's a lot of work thathas to be done on the front end
and then, when we actually bringthem there, we're testing out
these different dogs and findinga suitable match.
They go through that trainingand then they go home and that
dog's allowed to attend thegeneral public with them
wherever they go.
(26:43):
So it's a.
It's really a.
You know it's a.
It's really a, you know it's a.
It's a partnership, it's amutual relationship where the
dog walks alongside the veteranwherever they're going,
constantly doing these tasks andjust being there for support.
Daniela SM (27:01):
That's fascinating.
So it's like having a healingdog.
So what happened?
I'm playing with my ring when Iget anxiety.
Ryan Woodruff (27:05):
And what would the dog do?
It depends.
Every dog does somethingdifferent, but you will
typically have the dog providesome sort of grounding mechanism
or alert, and it's really tohelp bring the veteran back into
a mindful state.
I see it's not about disruptingthe behavior.
I think it's very importantthat when we're defining the
(27:25):
type of work that our dogs aredoing, it's really grounding, so
helping relieve tension andrelieve anxiety.
And sometimes one of the tasksthat we'll do is called visit
and the dog will be prompteddifferently on how to do this.
But it can be.
If you're using the weddingband as an example, dog will
(27:45):
come up and rest their chin onthe veteran's lap and just
solicit petting, so it changesthe behavioral pattern to get
them to interact with the doginstead of doing the
self-soothing technique torespond to their own anxiety.
Daniela SM (28:00):
Wow, that seems a lot of training for sure.
Ryan Woodruff (28:03):
Yeah.
Daniela SM (28:03):
Yeah, I have heard that if you pet the dog it gives
you serotonin and it's verygood.
But how to train the dog tohelp that?
That's incredible.
Ryan Woodruff (28:11):
Yeah, service dogs for military-related
post-traumatic stress isrelatively new.
It's been going on since, Iwould say, around 2010, 2011.
And that's when ClearPath wasfounded.
But really that's when thediscovery of service dogs being
a validated you know,evidence-based modality for
(28:34):
veterans facing these challengeswas really validated at that
time.
We've been doing it for about15 years, but service dogs have
been around since the earlyeighties, you know, helping
people with mobility issues,visual impairment and so on, and
it makes sense to me.
You know like I've been througha lot of different treatments.
I've done therapy, I've seensocial workers, I've been going
to the VA for decades now, butthere was nothing that could
(28:58):
compare to that of training witha dog and just having that
experience.
It helps you get beyondyourself too.
One of the things I always tellveterans as they enter the
training room is you got tocheck your ego at the door,
because if you're going toconnect with a dog, you can't be
super militant.
You have to get beyond yourself, be a little animated, show
that you genuinely want toconnect with the dog, or else
(29:19):
they're not going to respondwell.
So you know it helps theircharacter formation as they're
transitioning out of themilitary as well, and the other
part of it is, if you're goingto go out in public with a
service dog, you're going to bethe center of attention, people
are going to talk to you,they're going to ask questions,
they're going to want to petyour dog, and for veterans that
(29:41):
are isolating and are strugglingto find a bridge to community,
the dog can be a great socialfacilitator because it's
inviting the people in, so it'sreally helping them overcome
that over time.
In order for the dog to besuccessful, they have to go out
in public too.
So it's interesting just theway it works.
It's like a whole package.
(30:02):
The dog does the task.
They're helping the veteranfind a dependence, they're going
out into public more, they'redoing things they weren't doing
before they got out of themilitary, and it's really
awesome.
Daniela SM (30:12):
Like, if you say that they have veterans with
substance issues and stuff, arethey helping at that level as
well?
Ryan Woodruff (30:19):
Yes and no.
The one thing that we have toensure before we have a veteran
come into the program is thatthey are not facing substance
abuse issues, that they'veovercome some of that prior to
being enrolled into the program.
We have to really ensure thatwe're looking at needs and
readiness as two components whenwe're asking ourselves is
somebody suitable for a servicedog?
(30:41):
So, need being that, you knowthey've done some work on their
own.
They've gone to therapy, theyhave a, they're starting to
bridge into a social network,but they've done something
evidence based to help theirsituation.
But there's something that'snot helping them be completely
independent.
And then readiness would bethey've done all this work, they
(31:02):
don't actively have suicidalideation, they're not actively
facing substance abuse, and sowe kind of try to find veterans
that are in the middle of thatspectrum.
That would be most likely to besuccessful, because you know,
if you're going into thisprogram, it's a disruption to
your life.
There's still going to be somestress components to it and we
(31:23):
need to make sure that everybodyentering into it can be
reasonably successful.
Daniela SM (31:26):
Well, it sounds like a great program.
I saw that they have a lot ofactivities besides just the dog
training.
I wonder why it's only in NewYork.
Shouldn't that be everywhere inthe country and around the
world actually?
Ryan Woodruff (31:39):
Yeah, I mean I think that one thing that's been
lost with society.
I mean traditional warriorculture talks a lot about how,
when service members or warriorswere returning home, there was
a process to it.
It wasn't just, hey, you finishyour contract and I'll go back
into your community.
There was rituals, there wasthings that were done to help
(32:00):
kind of cleanse the spirit andbring them back into community.
And ClearPath part of itsfounding principle was to form a
protective circle aroundservice members and to endure
with them for as long as ittakes to get them where they're
going.
So when we set up theseprograms, we looked at the
unique challenges veterans arefacing and then we intentionally
designed these core programs tohelp alleviate those challenges
(32:22):
.
I 100% believe there should bea clear path or something like
it in every community.
The VA does a great job, butthere's only so much they can do
.
We're more in the innovative,non-traditional space.
So really, looking at theholistic approach, yeah, that's
true.
Daniela SM (32:40):
You have gone through a lot.
However, you are in a reallygood path, so I wonder if you
will have changed anything now.
Ryan Woodruff (32:48):
Well, you know, in the nine years I've been with
ClearPath, I started as a peermentor and then I became a dog
trainer, I became a programdirector, I basically navigated
every part of the organizationand eight months ago they asked
me to be the CEO.
If you asked me five years agoif I would be the CEO of this
(33:08):
organization, I would tell youyou're crazy, or absolutely not.
No way, that's.
I'm meant to be the boots onthe ground, providing the direct
services to our veterans andour families.
But I was called to this lineof duty and I'm grateful to do
that and lead the charge.
No shorter work to be done.
I think the hardest thing for meto you know lay down and go to
sleep at night is there's a lotof veterans out there that
(33:32):
aren't willing to ask for help.
And I tell people all the timelike if you're hearing this,
consider this your message,Reach out to us.
There's a lot that we can do tohelp you get to where you're
going, and really it does take avillage.
I tell people that all the time.
Daniela SM (34:00):
It's not just what ClearPath is doing.
It's not just what ClearPath isdoing.
It's about finding community.
We help you get there, but ittakes resource providers near
far and work to be done in NorthAmerica for that culture,
because I know in South Americaand Japan community is a very
important thing.
Ryan Woodruff (34:15):
Yeah, certainly.
I mean we're fortunate.
We serve veterans and theirfamilies because we know that
what's good for the family isgoing to be good for the
individual veteran as well.
We do everything from peersupport, service dogs, career
services.
We have a culinary program.
It's because we know that foodhelps bring people together,
breaking bread at a table.
Every Wednesday we'll havebetween 150 or 300 veterans at
(34:39):
our campus.
Oh wow, it's just a really goodway to just find authentic
connection.
To sit at a table.
There's no barrier to entry,everybody's welcome.
Daniela SM (34:48):
There's no cost no-transcript Path can go to
(35:17):
other communities Because you'rein New York.
So people that are inCalifornia or somewhere else it
will be very hard for them toget there.
Ryan Woodruff (35:24):
At some point in the future I hope that we can
expand our campus for sure tohave a bigger national footprint
.
The programs that we'reoffering right now so the K-9
program does serve nationally.
Anybody from anywhere in thecountry can connect with us and
we fly them out to New York togo through that program.
We also have a vocationaltraining program called
(35:46):
Operation Socrates where we'rehelping active service members
that are transitioning out ofthe military find jobs in the
K-12 teaching field.
Again, that's nationallyrepresented, so anybody from
anywhere in the country canconnect with us to go through
that program.
That includes family members aswell.
In the next year we're lookingto expand digitally, so having
just a digital footprint sopeople can access our website
(36:09):
and navigate through some of ourunique programs and services.
Nothing beats being on thecampus, though.
I mean I wholly believe thatface-to-face direct services is
really the way to go.
Sitting down and having coffeewith somebody is much different
than having a Zoom call or beingon the other end of a virtual
screen.
Yes, in short, I think at somepoint in the future we will look
(36:31):
to expand brick and mortar.
We're just focusing onmastering everything we're doing
in New York right now.
I think we're about therebefore we're invited into this
next community.
We've also said that whenpeople are seeing what we're
doing, if somebody approaches usand says we want this in our
community, we're willing to havethose conversations and talk
about what it would take to dothat.
Daniela SM (36:52):
Yes, and I hope that you get those conversations
and those requests andcongratulations for being the
CEO.
Now it's true.
Ryan Woodruff (36:59):
Thank you.
Daniela SM (37:00):
Who knew?
Right, that's what happened, sovery successful, I think.
And you're helping thecommunity.
You have a meaningful job,which is something that people
like community, but also theyhave jobs that sometimes they
don't feel that they'remeaningful and you are just
helping a lot of people, sothat's amazing.
Ryan Woodruff (37:17):
Yeah, I mean I couldn't be more grateful.
I disqualified myself time andtime again.
I think one of the hardestthings to bear is what you tell
yourself in the mirror every day, and it's something we all do
often, and I would definitelyattribute that to my story as
well growing up and just neverfeeling like I was enough, and
even to this point of taking themantle of CEO, I just couldn't
(37:38):
believe it.
I was like, why me?
Why am I the guy?
I don't feel qualified for this.
I didn't go to college forbusiness masters in business or
business development orleadership.
All I have is my experiences,and they said that's exactly
what qualifies you.
We want somebody that has thelived in experience to represent
(37:58):
this organization and helpbuild what's next for us.
So it took a while for me toput the uniform on and accept
that, but I definitely amgrateful and looking forward to
what we have ahead.
Daniela SM (38:09):
Yeah, that's wonderful, and I want to ask you
about your kids.
You have kids now, so what areyou doing differently?
Ryan Woodruff (38:16):
A lot.
So one thing we're doing is notmoving.
We're very rooted in ourcommunity.
My kids are at work with mealmost one or two times a week
they come out to our campus andhang out.
We're actually homeschoolingour kids, which is new for us,
but that's another way of justbeing very intimately connected
(38:37):
with what we're doing and howwe're raising our children, and
I'm also just being very honestwith them and always lifting
them up, encouraging them andhelping them figure out what it
is they want to do in theirlives, while not, you know.
The other thing I'm often toldis what do you say to your kid
when they say they want to jointhe military?
(38:58):
And I just give them honesty.
You know, I tell them it's notwhat the movies all chalk it up
to be.
It's.
Those experiences are verydifferent and just try to be
very honest with them but alsonot discourage them.
If that's something they decideto do, I'm always going to be
there behind them to help liftthem up Wonderful.
Daniela SM (39:17):
Yes, that's true.
The moving part is somethingthat with my husband.
He moved a lot, I moved just abit, but I didn't really put the
two together and he was like no, we're having our kids, we're
staying where we are until theyfinish high school.
And it's true, it does make abig difference for stability and
for having a functional familyrelations.
(39:38):
I think it's very good.
Ryan Woodruff (39:40):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
It makes a huge difference.
They, you know, they know theirpeople, they feel part of this
village and we're raising themtogether and I think that's
really important.
Daniela SM (39:54):
Yeah, wonderful.
Well, is there anything elsethat we haven't talked about yet
?
Ryan Woodruff (39:59):
I think we covered quite a bit of ground.
I just would anybody listeningto this if you're looking for
help and if you're a veteran ora family member or veteran and
trying to figure out what's nextfor you, we encourage you to
reach out.
We are looking to expand ourcampus and do more each and
every year.
If you're looking to partnerwith us or help us with our
mission, we definitely welcomethe conversation.
Daniela SM (40:21):
Ryan, thank you so much for sharing your story.
It was amazing.
Ryan Woodruff (40:24):
Thank you Appreciate it.
Daniela SM (40:25):
What stayed with me after this conversation with
Ryan is the quiet strength ittakes to be vulnerable and how
vital compassion and connectionare, especially when it comes to
mental health.
His story reminds me thathealing isn't linear and
sometimes the smallest gestureof support can make the biggest
(40:48):
difference.
Spread the word and share thisepisode, allowing the ordinary
magic to go further.
Join me next time for anotherstory conversation.
Thank you for listening.
Hasta pronto.
Hi, I'm Daniela.
Welcome to my podcast, becauseEveryone has a Story, the place
to give ordinary people'sstories the chance to be shared
and preserved.
Our stories become the languageof connections.
Let's enjoy, connect and relate, because everyone has a story.
Our guest is Ryan Woodruff, athoughtful and deeply kind human
(00:24):
being whose insights stay withme long after a conversation
ended.
His story is powerful not justbecause of what he's been
through, but because of the wayhe shares it.
During our time together, heshared his journey from serving
in the Marines to leading anonprofit that supports veterans
(00:44):
in finding healing and purpose.
It is a conversation aboutstruggle, resilience and the
quiet strength that comes fromshowing up for others.
I am honored to share it withyou, so let's enjoy Ryan's story
.
Welcome, ryan, to the show.
Ryan Woodruff (01:01):
Thanks for having me Appreciate it.
Daniela SM (01:03):
Yes, yes, I'm super interested in the story that
you're going to share.
So why do you want to shareyour story?
Ryan Woodruff (01:09):
So I learned over several years of just going
through my own challenges howimportant it was to hear someone
else's story to be.
On the other end of that, A lotof my growth I could directly
correlate with those that werewilling to be vulnerable enough
to share some of their lifelessons, and if there's anything
that I could say that resonateswith somebody from my story, I
(01:32):
would just like to pass that on.
Daniela SM (01:34):
And I appreciate that, because it's true, when we
share our stories, we don'thave to be famous To do that.
I think everybody has a storyand it is important that we
share it for others.
Ryan Woodruff (01:43):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Daniela SM (01:44):
And so when does your story start?
Ryan Woodruff (01:46):
Like everybody, my path started when I was a
child Growing up.
I was never rooted in one placefor a long enough time for me
to establish a community.
And as a young boy growing upand the biggest challenge I
found with moving around a lotas a kid was getting into a
social circle, rooting myself ina support network of people
(02:07):
that wanted better for me, and Iknow now that because of that
it led to a lot of inhibitionand some confidence issues and
it was a struggle.
As far back as I can remember,my biggest support system was my
family, so my mother and mybrother.
My mom raised us as a singleparent and it was tough growing
up.
They divorced at a young ageand pretty much just was with
(02:32):
mom my whole life.
Daniela SM (02:34):
Oh, you're moving around and you don't know where
that community is Interesting.
Ryan Woodruff (02:38):
Yeah, state by state too.
I mean we were bouncing arounddifferent school districts so I
was repeatedly the new kid and Ithink that just became part of
my identity.
We were rapidly jumping fromplace to place.
My mom was trying to providefor us and find careers
everywhere we went and it wasjust a struggle.
At some point.
I think that contributed to alot of avoidance for me, and it
(03:01):
was certainly at that young agethat I really developed an
affinity for the militaryculture because I felt like how
could you be more rooted inanything else other than, you
know, enlisting in the military?
You move around a lot, for sure, but you're part of a
fraternity and a community thatis all after a typically a
(03:21):
singular mission and so like,really right out of the get-go,
a lot of you know early on,early childhood just, I think,
really steered me in thatdirection.
Daniela SM (03:31):
And so after high school, you enrolled right away.
Ryan Woodruff (03:34):
Yeah, actually, during high school, I enlisted
as soon as I turned 17.
As far back as I can remember Iwanted to go in.
The Marine.
Corps Spoke to me in waysnothing else did.
I didn't really do well inschool, if I'm being honest.
I mean, I would also attributethe moving around a lot to not
doing well academically.
And I felt most connected whenI was within nature.
(03:57):
I really loved being out in thewoods and hanging out outside.
I spent all of my childhoodoutside.
I really rarely was stuck infront of a TV or anything like
that.
You know, the military reallyjust spoke to my spirit.
It's something I really wantedto do.
So as soon as I got theopportunity, I found a recruiter
and I enlisted.
My mother signed the papershappened to be at the height of
(04:18):
Operation Iraqi Freedom, so Iknew full well that I'd be
deploying to Iraq shortly afterI enlisted as well.
Daniela SM (04:26):
How was that experience?
Was it everything you thoughtit would be?
Ryan Woodruff (04:29):
Honestly, it was nothing that I thought it would
be.
So, you know, going into themilitary was exactly what I
thought it would be.
You know I did enough researchin my time growing up that you
know I knew exactly what toexpect.
I was physically fit.
I really studied militaryculture a lot.
I knew everything I needed toknow before I went to boot camp.
(04:52):
And you know, to be honest,people talk about boot camp
being really hard.
I didn't find it superdifficult.
I just you had to move fast, dowhat you were told and speak
very loudly, and that was easyfor me.
Following orders was never aproblem.
The biggest challenge was themental struggle.
You're immersed in a completelydifferent culture.
You're separated from your home, you're put in front of a bunch
(05:16):
of people you've never metbefore, and it was what I
expected.
But really, when things beganto change for me was when I
actually left boot camp.
I graduated, I became a Marineand I finished my infantry
training and I ended up beingattached to my unit, 3rd
(05:37):
Battalion, 2nd Marines, in CampLejeune, north Carolina, and I
felt like I had to bereinitiated all over again.
That was just a whole chapterthat I didn't foresee.
I thought that becoming aMarine was it?
You know, once you're in,you're part of the brotherhood,
and it just wasn't the case.
A lot of the people in my unithad already deployed to Iraq, so
(05:58):
they had come back with combatexperience.
Automatically disqualifies theyounger guy joining right
Because they hadn't been yet,they hadn't done their time
overseas, and so, yet again, Ihad to go through this
initiation, which certainlywasn't easy.
Big mental game, really.
For the next seven months afterI got out of bootcamp was all
training, just getting ready togo to Iraq.
Daniela SM (06:21):
Oh, so they went back again.
Ryan Woodruff (06:23):
Yeah, actually, the first time I deployed was in
2006, just turned 19.
And I look back and I'm likeholy moly, I can't believe to
have gone through thoseexperiences at such a young age.
And I look at the kids outtoday and I just couldn't
imagine some of them being putin an environment like that.
But it was the path I chose andnonetheless, put in an
(06:46):
environment like that.
But it was the path I chose andnonetheless we deployed and I
spent seven months in Al-Anbarprovince, iraq.
It's right between Fallujah andRamadi.
Some of your listeners might befamiliar with that area and it
was a lot of friction in thatspace.
At the time the unit that wewere replacing faced heavy
losses and we knew that we weregoing into a very turbulent
territory.
So when I first got there Ididn't know what to expect.
(07:07):
I was prepared for the worst.
That's something that I wastaught at an early stage in my
military career was just alwaysexpect things to be hard and
you'll never be disappointed.
Unfortunately, that carriedwith me even until the point
where I got out of the service.
In that deployment we werefaced with a lot of combat,
small arms fire, sniper fire,ambushes, improvised explosive
(07:31):
devices and unfortunately noteverybody I left with came home
with me.
Daniela SM (07:35):
Wow, that must have been hard and traumatic in a
way.
Ryan Woodruff (07:39):
Yeah, extremely.
I mean there were so manydifferent events that occurred
during that seven monthdeployment that I would
contribute to a lot of thefeelings I had really post
deployment.
Do the job, focus on themission and the objective and
put your blinders on and notreally focus too much on the
(08:08):
emotional component that you'recarrying.
They actually really programyou to suppress a lot of that.
To be honest with you, anytimeyou speak of things that would
compromise your mental health,that puts you at risk of being
kicked out of the military.
So at an early stage you'retaught suppression just in the
subculture.
(08:28):
I wouldn't say that's theoverall arching message.
But anybody that I was servingwith boots on the ground
basically said don't sayanything, don't talk about your
nightmares, about not sleeping.
Certainly don't admit that youhave an alcohol problem, because
it doesn't put you down a goodpath.
You could end up getting kickedout of the military and then
you'll struggle to find a job.
(08:49):
So we really all just kept ourmouths shut, you know, and did
our job, said that we were okay,no problems, and it's just.
It's crazy.
I mean I'm reading this bookright now.
It's called Gates of Fire andit's about you know this
historical reference of theSpartans going to Thermopylae
you know ancient battle and ittalks about how each of them
(09:10):
were provided a ticket.
This ticket split in half.
It was like a necklace and onone end was their battle heart
and self, which entered intocombat.
But before they went into warthey would give this other
ticket back to their commandingofficer and say, like, hold on
to this.
Upon the close of these battlesthey would get their other
(09:30):
ticket and be over immersed likewith emotion, right, because
they survived the battle.
Those that survived got boththeir tickets and put them
together.
And I just read this recentlyand it just really stuck out to
me because that really itresembles well military culture
today.
As you go to deploy in a combatzone, you pretty much you just
(09:50):
go in and you do it and youdon't think about all the other
stuff and the military, whatI'll say doesn't do well is
prepare you for the weight ofall of that after you return
home.
That is something that took mewell over a decade to wrestle
with and overcome.
I would say I mean, honestly,that's something that we're all
still struggling with.
It's kind of a lifelong thing.
(10:12):
Recovery and growth arecertainly available, but it's
something that you always haveto be mindful of.
Daniela SM (10:17):
Yes, so many.
I mean, I don't have theexperience that you have.
What I'm feeling that I have isthat they prepare you really
well, they want you to go tocombat and then when you come
back it doesn't seem there is aspace for any of you and you see
all these veterans reallystruggling and it's just very
sad because they are reallysmart people capable of many
(10:37):
things, but the intensity isnever going to compare with any
other jobs in regular world.
So that's also similar.
Similar, I will say, and I'mafraid to compare, but to be an
Olympian, they are so intense ontheir training.
Ryan Woodruff (10:50):
Yeah, I mean the skills and experience you
develop.
Four years in the infantry andtwo combat deployments doesn't
translate a whole lot to reallife in the domestic territory,
back in your nation and gettinginto a career field.
That it's not the same, similarto somebody that really makes
it to the top in the sportsarena and the adrenaline that
(11:13):
they receive and the crowds andthe winning.
It's it's.
There's a lot of similaritiesto being in combat and
firefights and having your youknow, your cortisol and fight or
flight response constantly allthe way up, you know, as far as
scaling goes, and when I got outI thought I was going to just
get a job as a police officer.
(11:33):
That I would just, you know,because of my experience here.
There seemed to be nothing elsethat would translate based on
those skillsets.
So I would be a cop.
But you know if police forcethat I was applying for wasn't
hiring at the time.
So I had a choice to make.
I could either continue topursue law enforcement or take a
(11:54):
different direction.
And so after I got out it wasreally like a tornado of just
trying to figure out this nextpath for myself.
After I left the Marine Corps Iwas excited to be a civilian.
I couldn't wait to be done.
Those experiences that I livedand the brothers that I lost and
the fact that I made it backfrom what I experienced really
(12:16):
changed my viewpoint on life andjust not to take anything for
granted, I was really gratefuljust to breathe fresh air and be
out of the desert and be backin America, back home, where
there was green grass and therewas people that weren't trying
to kill me.
I tried to figure out what thisnext path was going to be, but
(12:37):
I realized very quickly that Icouldn't relate to anybody.
It was very difficult for me toestablish community.
The kids I was going to collegewith.
There was nothing that them orI could identify with and it was
just very difficult to figurethat out.
People that I found goodcompany with were other veterans
, just connecting with otherveterans, and it was very
(12:59):
isolating.
For a long time I struggled withalcoholism for you know, I
would say even before I got outof the service, that became a
strong coping mechanism for me.
I would never admit that I gotout of the service.
That became a strong copingmechanism for me.
I would never admit that I hadan alcohol problem at the time.
I certainly know now that thatwas a huge problem for me,
because it was the only thingthat would help me feel better
(13:19):
about myself.
You do that for so long and itjust becomes part of your fabric
.
It's like a reflexive response.
It gets worse and worse andworse, and that certainly was
the case for me.
I was functional, I was goingto school, I was getting great
grades and everything else, butI was lacking in so much and I
felt empty inside.
It wasn't until I foundClearPath that I really
(13:42):
understood that community wasjust so important, something
missing in my life, and I had tobecome very vulnerable in some
of the things I was experiencing, to ever cross these bridges,
to integrating back into society.
Daniela SM (13:55):
So you were seven months in combat.
You came back and then youdecided to leave.
Ryan Woodruff (14:00):
Actually, I did another tour to Iraq.
So I came back, we trainedagain for another seven months,
I deployed again, spent anotherseven months in Iraq and then,
after my second deployment, Ihad less than a year left in my
four-year contract.
So I had a decision to make.
I could either re-enlist andstay in the military or I could
(14:21):
get out.
And it was very easy for me atthat point to decide to get out
of the service and in June 2009,I was honorably discharged.
Daniela SM (14:30):
So that you have a contract for four years that you
have to follow, and thenafterwards you can leave or stay
.
Ryan Woodruff (14:36):
Yes.
Daniela SM (14:36):
Okay, so you left and then you went to college and
to study what?
Ryan Woodruff (14:40):
I ended up studying natural resources and
forestry.
Daniela SM (14:42):
Okay.
Ryan Woodruff (14:43):
Wow, because you know, like I said, growing up I
really had a deep affinity fornature and since law enforcement
wasn't working out, I figuredthis would be the next best
thing.
That led me down a completelydifferent path.
I ended up developing multipleskill sets, one of which is I
became an arborist.
So I was a tree climber,working in small teams really
difficult work, pushing 10, 12hour days, you know, making 12
(15:05):
bucks an hour that was what mycollege degree provided me with
at the time is it was a templatethat I fell into and I stuck
with for five or six years.
You know, something I didn'tmention is my time in the
military really did physicallyinjure me over that prolonged
period of just high intensitywork, wearing 200 pounds of gear
(15:26):
, being in close proximity toexplosions, jumping gates and
fences, being an infantry Marine.
It comes with a cost, andusually that is your mind and
your body for sure, and thethings that I experienced in
that timeframe just expedited myphysical limitations much
quicker than normally.
So after getting out and thendoing this time in forestry, I
(15:50):
just continued to break my body.
To be honest with you, itwasn't until I went to a doctor
and I said I'm having a lot ofproblems with my back and my
shoulder keeps dislocating whenI'm climbing these trees and
just having all sorts of theseproblems and these comorbidities
.
And he said yeah well, yourback looks like something we'd
see if you were 70, not 30.
All of that weight that youwere carrying in the military
(16:12):
has really just destroyed yourspine.
You're going to want to thinkabout changing your career
trajectory.
And then again I'm kind ofthrown out into the atmosphere
and I had to pivot yet again andso it was a lot to take in and
I'm just I just part of mewanted to go back in the
military.
I just felt like I wasn'tfinding a place to belong, super
(16:33):
isolating and the only thing Iknew at that point and I felt
like I just needed to go back in.
I actually tried to go backinto the military and they they
wouldn't take me.
At that point in time I wasalready beyond the age that was
acceptable and some of thephysical limitations that I had
were just deemed unworthy ofgetting through the physical
checkups and all those types ofthings at that time.
(16:56):
So I had to figure out what wasnext for me.
Daniela SM (16:59):
Wow, that's a challenge for sure, looking for
community and not able to fitanywhere.
Ryan Woodruff (17:04):
Yeah.
Daniela SM (17:04):
And so then, what happened?
What did you do?
Ryan Woodruff (17:07):
So, by chance, a friend of mine was working with
this organization that helpsveterans navigate their
transition from military tocivilian culture.
He was running an employmentprogram helping veterans find
jobs and he said, hey, we'relooking for somebody like
yourself that has combatexperience, has transitioned out
of the military successfullyand can help other veterans
(17:29):
navigate these unique challenges.
And so I was like that soundsgreat.
I mean, that sounds like ameaningful job where I could
find purpose and identity again.
So I applied for this positionand I got this job with Clear
Path for Veterans as a peermentor.
That was almost 10 years ago atthis point, and it's been a
huge transformation since I'vebeen there.
Daniela SM (17:50):
When you got in there.
You realized then that you weredrinking too much.
Ryan Woodruff (17:53):
Yeah, shortly after I was with the
organization for about eightmonths, I actually enrolled into
their service dog program as arecipient.
Through that experience, Istarted to take a pretty deep
look in the mirror and askmyself here I am trying to be an
ambassador for other veteranstransitioning out of service,
but I've not yet overcome someof my own barriers and some of
(18:17):
my own challenges.
I was building a family, I gotmarried.
I had children.
I started to weigh the gravityof what I could potentially lose
as well.
I quit drinking cold turkey andI've been sober since.
This is back in 2017.
So I think it's been a littleover eight years.
You know what I'll say aboutthat is it didn't fix all my
(18:37):
problems, to be honest with you.
I had to rediscover myselfbecause I had been drinking
alcohol for so long that Ididn't know how to be any
different without it, and so myconfidence took a big dive.
I didn't have anything to copewith anymore.
There was no medications oranything that were really
helping me with my mental health, and I really had to push
(18:58):
through some significantadversity to learn what it was
to be who I was without alcohol,and that took a couple of years
, but it was absolutelynecessary.
It was one of those steps in myjourney and a chapter that I
had to overcome in order to getto where I am today.
Daniela SM (19:14):
I can imagine, in this job that you're having now,
you have met a lot of peoplesimilar to you with similar
situations, but you seem to callturkey, have fixed things and
I'm sure you're still in theprocess, but what do you think
is the difference between youand other people that have
noticed that I was strugglingand in a dark space?
Ryan Woodruff (19:54):
And they invited me into a social group and I
started to attend this weeklygroup for well it's been over
six years now, but it just tookan invitation to go to this
group and start talking withthese guys and that was,
honestly, the first time Iexperienced somebody else
(20:14):
sharing their, their story withme, and the deep vulnerability
and just willingness to put itall out on the table and then
talk about what they're doingnow was immensely healing for me
.
I couldn't there's no words todescribe it but it's the first
time I actually felt welcome inan environment and to be, you
know, to be willing to be openand honest in such a deeply
(20:38):
vulnerable way was admirable tome.
It still took me a long time tocross that bridge myself.
I mean, I was with the groupfor probably three months before
I even opened my mouth and saidanything, but I was just
attending.
You know it wasn't alcoholicsand ominous, but I could see
that there's a lot of peoplethat find a lot of healing in
groups like that as well.
But community was 100%, andjust being connected to people
(21:03):
that would surround themselvesaround you and want better for
your situation was a hugehealing for me.
That and all the things that Iwas experiencing at ClearPath.
Daniela SM (21:13):
So this group was mainly to share your feelings.
Ryan Woodruff (21:16):
Yeah, and it was spiritually based, so it was a
Christian fellowship and wewould, you know, we would really
talk about our own stories andthen we would tie it to
scripture in some respects andtalk about like, how do we do
life?
You know what?
What's the what?
You know what you're dealingwith right now?
(21:37):
Is there something we canrelate it to biblically that
could help your situation?
And I didn't grow up in a, youknow, very strong faith
background or anything like that.
It was somewhat surface level.
It wasn't something that I wasvery strongly attached to, but
it was definitely this thatopened up some doors for me that
I felt okay and comfortablestepping into.
Daniela SM (21:57):
And then also some resilience from your part as
well to overcome and go throughall these things in a different
way than other people, I guess.
Ryan Woodruff (22:05):
Yeah, I mean, at the same time I was working with
other veterans and a lot ofthese veterans I was working
with were homeless.
They couldn't put food on thetable, they were facing
substance abuse.
It was really humbling and itwas just eye-opening that there
were so many out there thatreally needed help and they were
looking to us for that resource.
So it was just a catalyst forchange, you know, for for me to
(22:28):
change things within myself sothat I could be better for these
others.
And, um, like I said, at thesame time I went through this
canine program to be placed witha service dog and that
experience was, I mean extremely, I mean very transformative.
There's something aboutconnecting with a dog on the
other end of a leash that'sindescribable.
I mean, one of the trainerstold me at the time she was
(22:52):
actually the founder of ClearPath that, like your dog, is an
inner reflection of youremotional state.
So once you get a bettercontrol over how you're feeling,
the training is going to gobetter.
And then again I'm being taughtall of these little mini life
lessons, you know, throughcommunity, through dog training,
(23:12):
through peer support, and itwas really an all-inclusive,
holistic approach that it tookseveral years, but all of this I
would attribute to being ableto overcome a lot of these
challenges.
Daniela SM (23:27):
Yes, I've heard that dogs take the people's
personality.
Ryan Woodruff (23:32):
They do and they have incredible intuition.
They pick up on things.
It's why the human-animal bondis so important in the work that
we do.
They're able to respond todifferent mental health
challenges that veterans arefacing and they perform specific
tasks to help mitigate that.
And when you actually see thisin real time, it's incredible.
(23:53):
There's nothing like it, and alot of the times when these
veterans are experiencing thisfor the first time, it brings
them to tears because a dog thathas been trained to do this
work is performing thesespecialized tasks to help them
feel better.
And it's just really incredible.
Daniela SM (24:09):
So you are training them, that's your dog, or you
train dogs to give it to otherpeople.
Ryan Woodruff (24:14):
We do a little bit of both.
So when I started it was adifferent model where they would
place us with a dog from theshelter and we would train it
for two years as the veterangoing through the program.
And we would train it for twoyears as the veteran going
through the program and then thegoal was for that dog to meet
all of the criteria to become afully trained service dog.
(24:34):
And through my own experience Irealized that there was a lot
of things we could do betterwithin that program.
It actually helped me discoverthat I wanted to become a dog
trainer and I went to school forthat.
And through that process andjust all the learning that I've
done and networking with otherproviders that are doing this
work, I learned that trainingthe dog beforehand is a much
better path to helping them besuccessful.
(24:57):
So now we're raising puppiesfrom seven weeks all the way to
two years.
We're doing all of the trainingand then we're bringing
veterans in to be partnered withthese dogs.
Daniela SM (25:09):
And what happened with these dogs and the veterans
?
Ryan Woodruff (25:13):
They'll go through, do they?
Daniela SM (25:13):
go home with their dog or they come to visit you.
Ryan Woodruff (25:17):
They'll go home with the veteran, they'll go
back to their community.
They do about three weeks oftraining with us.
So wherever they are in thecountry, we'll bring them to
central New York and do thisthree weeks of training, and the
idea there is to provide themwith all of the information that
we provided that dog within twoyears.
So that's it's a lot.
I mean, it's eight hours a dayfor these for this time of
(25:38):
intensive training.
But the you know theinteresting thing is that when
we're placing the dog with aveteran, there's nothing we can
do up front to measurecompatibility, and you really
got to get them there to see ifthe dog is going to be
compatible with the veteran.
So we'll have between two andthree dogs available and the
trainers are, for the first week, just really assessing if
(26:00):
there's a match, a good matchfor the veteran, and they have
to be in person to see that.
And beforehand we're alsotraining that dog to be
specifically tailor trained forthe veteran.
So you know we're asking themquestions like if you're
experiencing a panic attack,what does that look like?
Are you bouncing your knee upand down?
Are you messing with yourwedding band?
(26:22):
Are you touching your face?
And then we're training the dogto respond to that picture by
doing some complex task.
So there's a lot of work thathas to be done on the front end
and then, when we actually bringthem there, we're testing out
these different dogs and findinga suitable match.
They go through that trainingand then they go home and that
dog's allowed to attend thegeneral public with them
wherever they go.
(26:43):
So it's a.
It's really a.
You know it's a.
It's really a, you know it's a.
It's a partnership, it's amutual relationship where the
dog walks alongside the veteranwherever they're going,
constantly doing these tasks andjust being there for support.
Daniela SM (27:01):
That's fascinating.
So it's like having a healingdog.
So what happened?
I'm playing with my ring when Iget anxiety.
Ryan Woodruff (27:05):
And what would the dog do?
It depends.
Every dog does somethingdifferent, but you will
typically have the dog providesome sort of grounding mechanism
or alert, and it's really tohelp bring the veteran back into
a mindful state.
I see it's not about disruptingthe behavior.
I think it's very importantthat when we're defining the
(27:25):
type of work that our dogs aredoing, it's really grounding, so
helping relieve tension andrelieve anxiety.
And sometimes one of the tasksthat we'll do is called visit
and the dog will be prompteddifferently on how to do this.
But it can be.
If you're using the weddingband as an example, dog will
(27:45):
come up and rest their chin onthe veteran's lap and just
solicit petting, so it changesthe behavioral pattern to get
them to interact with the doginstead of doing the
self-soothing technique torespond to their own anxiety.
Daniela SM (28:00):
Wow, that seems a lot of training for sure.
Ryan Woodruff (28:03):
Yeah.
Daniela SM (28:03):
Yeah, I have heard that if you pet the dog it gives
you serotonin and it's verygood.
But how to train the dog tohelp that?
That's incredible.
Ryan Woodruff (28:11):
Yeah, service dogs for military-related
post-traumatic stress isrelatively new.
It's been going on since, Iwould say, around 2010, 2011.
And that's when ClearPath wasfounded.
But really that's when thediscovery of service dogs being
a validated you know,evidence-based modality for
(28:34):
veterans facing these challengeswas really validated at that
time.
We've been doing it for about15 years, but service dogs have
been around since the earlyeighties, you know, helping
people with mobility issues,visual impairment and so on, and
it makes sense to me.
You know like I've been througha lot of different treatments.
I've done therapy, I've seensocial workers, I've been going
to the VA for decades now, butthere was nothing that could
(28:58):
compare to that of training witha dog and just having that
experience.
It helps you get beyondyourself too.
One of the things I always tellveterans as they enter the
training room is you got tocheck your ego at the door,
because if you're going toconnect with a dog, you can't be
super militant.
You have to get beyond yourself, be a little animated, show
that you genuinely want toconnect with the dog, or else
(29:19):
they're not going to respondwell.
So you know it helps theircharacter formation as they're
transitioning out of themilitary as well, and the other
part of it is, if you're goingto go out in public with a
service dog, you're going to bethe center of attention, people
are going to talk to you,they're going to ask questions,
they're going to want to petyour dog, and for veterans that
(29:41):
are isolating and are strugglingto find a bridge to community,
the dog can be a great socialfacilitator because it's
inviting the people in, so it'sreally helping them overcome
that over time.
In order for the dog to besuccessful, they have to go out
in public too.
So it's interesting just theway it works.
It's like a whole package.
(30:02):
The dog does the task.
They're helping the veteranfind a dependence, they're going
out into public more, they'redoing things they weren't doing
before they got out of themilitary, and it's really
awesome.
Daniela SM (30:12):
Like, if you say that they have veterans with
substance issues and stuff, arethey helping at that level as
well?
Ryan Woodruff (30:19):
Yes and no.
The one thing that we have toensure before we have a veteran
come into the program is thatthey are not facing substance
abuse issues, that they'veovercome some of that prior to
being enrolled into the program.
We have to really ensure thatwe're looking at needs and
readiness as two components whenwe're asking ourselves is
somebody suitable for a servicedog?
(30:41):
So, need being that, you knowthey've done some work on their
own.
They've gone to therapy, theyhave a, they're starting to
bridge into a social network,but they've done something
evidence based to help theirsituation.
But there's something that'snot helping them be completely
independent.
And then readiness would bethey've done all this work, they
(31:02):
don't actively have suicidalideation, they're not actively
facing substance abuse, and sowe kind of try to find veterans
that are in the middle of thatspectrum.
That would be most likely to besuccessful, because you know,
if you're going into thisprogram, it's a disruption to
your life.
There's still going to be somestress components to it and we
(31:23):
need to make sure that everybodyentering into it can be
reasonably successful.
Daniela SM (31:26):
Well, it sounds like a great program.
I saw that they have a lot ofactivities besides just the dog
training.
I wonder why it's only in NewYork.
Shouldn't that be everywhere inthe country and around the
world actually?
Ryan Woodruff (31:39):
Yeah, I mean I think that one thing that's been
lost with society.
I mean traditional warriorculture talks a lot about how,
when service members or warriorswere returning home, there was
a process to it.
It wasn't just, hey, you finishyour contract and I'll go back
into your community.
There was rituals, there wasthings that were done to help
(32:00):
kind of cleanse the spirit andbring them back into community.
And ClearPath part of itsfounding principle was to form a
protective circle aroundservice members and to endure
with them for as long as ittakes to get them where they're
going.
So when we set up theseprograms, we looked at the
unique challenges veterans arefacing and then we intentionally
designed these core programs tohelp alleviate those challenges
(32:22):
.
I 100% believe there should bea clear path or something like
it in every community.
The VA does a great job, butthere's only so much they can do
.
We're more in the innovative,non-traditional space.
So really, looking at theholistic approach, yeah, that's
true.
Daniela SM (32:40):
You have gone through a lot.
However, you are in a reallygood path, so I wonder if you
will have changed anything now.
Ryan Woodruff (32:48):
Well, you know, in the nine years I've been with
ClearPath, I started as a peermentor and then I became a dog
trainer, I became a programdirector, I basically navigated
every part of the organizationand eight months ago they asked
me to be the CEO.
If you asked me five years agoif I would be the CEO of this
(33:08):
organization, I would tell youyou're crazy, or absolutely not.
No way, that's.
I'm meant to be the boots onthe ground, providing the direct
services to our veterans andour families.
But I was called to this lineof duty and I'm grateful to do
that and lead the charge.
No shorter work to be done.
I think the hardest thing for meto you know lay down and go to
sleep at night is there's a lotof veterans out there that
(33:32):
aren't willing to ask for help.
And I tell people all the timelike if you're hearing this,
consider this your message,Reach out to us.
There's a lot that we can do tohelp you get to where you're
going, and really it does take avillage.
I tell people that all the time.
Daniela SM (34:00):
It's not just what ClearPath is doing.
It's not just what ClearPath isdoing.
It's about finding community.
We help you get there, but ittakes resource providers near
far and work to be done in NorthAmerica for that culture,
because I know in South Americaand Japan community is a very
important thing.
Ryan Woodruff (34:15):
Yeah, certainly.
I mean we're fortunate.
We serve veterans and theirfamilies because we know that
what's good for the family isgoing to be good for the
individual veteran as well.
We do everything from peersupport, service dogs, career
services.
We have a culinary program.
It's because we know that foodhelps bring people together,
breaking bread at a table.
Every Wednesday we'll havebetween 150 or 300 veterans at
(34:39):
our campus.
Oh wow, it's just a really goodway to just find authentic
connection.
To sit at a table.
There's no barrier to entry,everybody's welcome.
Daniela SM (34:48):
There's no cost no-transcript Path can go to
(35:17):
other communities Because you'rein New York.
So people that are inCalifornia or somewhere else it
will be very hard for them toget there.
Ryan Woodruff (35:24):
At some point in the future I hope that we can
expand our campus for sure tohave a bigger national footprint
.
The programs that we'reoffering right now so the K-9
program does serve nationally.
Anybody from anywhere in thecountry can connect with us and
we fly them out to New York togo through that program.
We also have a vocationaltraining program called
(35:46):
Operation Socrates where we'rehelping active service members
that are transitioning out ofthe military find jobs in the
K-12 teaching field.
Again, that's nationallyrepresented, so anybody from
anywhere in the country canconnect with us to go through
that program.
That includes family members aswell.
In the next year we're lookingto expand digitally, so having
just a digital footprint sopeople can access our website
(36:09):
and navigate through some of ourunique programs and services.
Nothing beats being on thecampus, though.
I mean I wholly believe thatface-to-face direct services is
really the way to go.
Sitting down and having coffeewith somebody is much different
than having a Zoom call or beingon the other end of a virtual
screen.
Yes, in short, I think at somepoint in the future we will look
(36:31):
to expand brick and mortar.
We're just focusing onmastering everything we're doing
in New York right now.
I think we're about therebefore we're invited into this
next community.
We've also said that whenpeople are seeing what we're
doing, if somebody approaches usand says we want this in our
community, we're willing to havethose conversations and talk
about what it would take to dothat.
Daniela SM (36:52):
Yes, and I hope that you get those conversations
and those requests andcongratulations for being the
CEO.
Now it's true.
Ryan Woodruff (36:59):
Thank you.
Daniela SM (37:00):
Who knew?
Right, that's what happened, sovery successful, I think.
And you're helping thecommunity.
You have a meaningful job,which is something that people
like community, but also theyhave jobs that sometimes they
don't feel that they'remeaningful and you are just
helping a lot of people, sothat's amazing.
Ryan Woodruff (37:17):
Yeah, I mean I couldn't be more grateful.
I disqualified myself time andtime again.
I think one of the hardestthings to bear is what you tell
yourself in the mirror every day, and it's something we all do
often, and I would definitelyattribute that to my story as
well growing up and just neverfeeling like I was enough, and
even to this point of taking themantle of CEO, I just couldn't
(37:38):
believe it.
I was like, why me?
Why am I the guy?
I don't feel qualified for this.
I didn't go to college forbusiness masters in business or
business development orleadership.
All I have is my experiences,and they said that's exactly
what qualifies you.
We want somebody that has thelived in experience to represent
(37:58):
this organization and helpbuild what's next for us.
So it took a while for me toput the uniform on and accept
that, but I definitely amgrateful and looking forward to
what we have ahead.
Daniela SM (38:09):
Yeah, that's wonderful, and I want to ask you
about your kids.
You have kids now, so what areyou doing differently?
Ryan Woodruff (38:16):
A lot.
So one thing we're doing is notmoving.
We're very rooted in ourcommunity.
My kids are at work with mealmost one or two times a week
they come out to our campus andhang out.
We're actually homeschoolingour kids, which is new for us,
but that's another way of justbeing very intimately connected
(38:37):
with what we're doing and howwe're raising our children, and
I'm also just being very honestwith them and always lifting
them up, encouraging them andhelping them figure out what it
is they want to do in theirlives, while not, you know.
The other thing I'm often toldis what do you say to your kid
when they say they want to jointhe military?
(38:58):
And I just give them honesty.
You know, I tell them it's notwhat the movies all chalk it up
to be.
It's.
Those experiences are verydifferent and just try to be
very honest with them but alsonot discourage them.
If that's something they decideto do, I'm always going to be
there behind them to help liftthem up Wonderful.
Daniela SM (39:17):
Yes, that's true.
The moving part is somethingthat with my husband.
He moved a lot, I moved just abit, but I didn't really put the
two together and he was like no, we're having our kids, we're
staying where we are until theyfinish high school.
And it's true, it does make abig difference for stability and
for having a functional familyrelations.
(39:38):
I think it's very good.
Ryan Woodruff (39:40):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
It makes a huge difference.
They, you know, they know theirpeople, they feel part of this
village and we're raising themtogether and I think that's
really important.
Daniela SM (39:54):
Yeah, wonderful.
Well, is there anything elsethat we haven't talked about yet
?
Ryan Woodruff (39:59):
I think we covered quite a bit of ground.
I just would anybody listeningto this if you're looking for
help and if you're a veteran ora family member or veteran and
trying to figure out what's nextfor you, we encourage you to
reach out.
We are looking to expand ourcampus and do more each and
every year.
If you're looking to partnerwith us or help us with our
mission, we definitely welcomethe conversation.
Daniela SM (40:21):
Ryan, thank you so much for sharing your story.
It was amazing.
Ryan Woodruff (40:24):
Thank you Appreciate it.
Daniela SM (40:25):
What stayed with me after this conversation with
Ryan is the quiet strength ittakes to be vulnerable and how
vital compassion and connectionare, especially when it comes to
mental health.
His story reminds me thathealing isn't linear and
sometimes the smallest gestureof support can make the biggest
(40:48):
difference.
Spread the word and share thisepisode, allowing the ordinary
magic to go further.
Join me next time for anotherstory conversation.
Thank you for listening.
Hasta pronto.
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