Dr. Ann Gatty

I began my career as a learning specialist. With a Ph.D. in Instruction and Learning, I can speak the language of academia, discuss the work of leading learning theorists, recite learning taxonomies, and explain the nuances of how people learn. I have written hundreds of lesson plans and taught students ranging from kindergarten through the university master’s level.

Yet I ultimately chose to leave the academic environment.

Academic theory has an important place in education, but I discovered that it did not always provide the setting in which I could help people achieve the real-life results they desired. Even when I was offered a position teaching in a master’s-level leadership program at a Pittsburgh university—one that included an applied component—the work still felt removed from the realities leaders face every day.

My belief in practical learning began at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where I developed and taught history lessons in and among the restored buildings of an eighteenth-century town. I taught without textbooks and saw how deeply people learn when they experience something rather than simply read about it.

For the next fourteen years, I developed museum education programs for historic sites. That work convinced me that experiential learning creates the most meaningful and lasting transformation. People learn best when they can connect new ideas to real situations, apply what they are learning, and experience the results for themselves.

After leaving the museum field, I returned to the classroom with my newly earned Ph.D. to prepare future teachers and business leaders. Being back in academia clarified something important for me: if I wanted to help people succeed in real-life roles, I needed to work with them in real-life situations.

So, I left the academy and began working alongside business owners and leaders inside their organizations. Today, I help them build businesses that work brilliantly, lead with intention, and make thoughtful decisions as they navigate each stage of their journey.

And often, my Great Dane Remington is part of that journey. Remi has an uncomplicated way of demonstrating lessons that leaders can easily overlook: be present, take up the space you have earned, trust your instincts, and know when it is time to move forward. Through my Leadership Lessons from Remington, she helps me turn those everyday observations into practical reminders about leadership, confidence, and change.

My work is not about providing more theory or telling people what they should do. It is about helping them step back from the noise, recognize what no longer fits, and make intentional decisions about what needs to change and what comes next. Because meaningful growth happens when knowledge becomes action—and when experience, clarity, and self-trust guide the journey forward.